


The Triforce Wars

by ryttu3k



Category: Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Genre: Backstory, Multi, Predestination, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-01
Updated: 2010-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-08 19:46:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 56,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/446841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryttu3k/pseuds/ryttu3k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Link finds himself summoned to the Temple of Time, it's to propel him far into the past. A tomboy princess, her brother, an old friend... war is brewing, and Link must take up the sword - or lose himself and those he loves forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Across The Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of the release of Hyrule Historia, this is now an AU, in terms of the timeline it presents here.

"So there is no other way, then?"

Beneath the shadow of the temple, a cluster of cloaked figures spoke in hushed whispers. One stood apart from the others, and yet they clearly deferred to him - he stood with a more confident bearing, strength and determination in his stance.

"There is not. It's a pity, yes... but if the former king hadn't wanted this to happen, then he would have arranged things differently."

One of the party eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know that it's true, though?" he asked practically, hood drawn up so tightly that their face was impossible to determine. "Isn't it possible that he fooled everyone? Maybe there never was -"

"Silence," the confident one said almost lazily, and the man's jaw snapped shut like a trap. "No, she has it. He was clearly mistaken in entrusting it to her - but his mistake will be our gain."

There was a murmur of assent - the group there had a common goal, after all.

A dark chuckle emitted from beneath the confident one's hood, the other men gazing at him - for leadership, for protection. "The girl will pay for her father's crimes, rest assured." And he raised a fist. "And Hyrule... will fall."

 

 

In the days of the Hero of Time, the Temple of Time stood largely empty.

Oh, it was hardly decrepit. The walls stood solid, the stained glass windows clear. The carpet beneath was plush, muffling all sound as a young man carefully made his way up it.

He was expected. At the altar, someone waited for him - a young woman, fair hair tumbling down her back, gold glinting at her brow. Yes, she had been expecting him - indeed, it had been her letter that had summoned him to this place, back from long wanderings and faraway adventures.

"Link," she murmured softly, and turned. "I've been waiting for you."

The young man in the green tunic paused, giving her an awkward smile. "Sorry... did you have to wait for long?" He joined her at the altar, one hand resting on the stone where the Spiritual Stones once sat.

Zelda shook her head, and turned to face him fully. It had been a long time since she had seen him like this, hadn't it? A boy turned man, then a man turned boy again, the two of them custodians of what had truly happened during the Seven Year War. And now he was grown again - naturally, normally, an adolescence she had restored.

She hadn't been able to preserve his innocence. His annual letters told her that much.

"No, it's alright," she told him gently, offering him an awkward smile of her own. "Have you been well? I haven't heard from you since the incident with the three-headed dragon."

He shrugged a little, glancing down at his booted feet. "I've been managing," he muttered, "I haven't found anywhere I've wanted to stay, yet... some of the people on the road are nice."

Slowly, Zelda nodded, turning back to the altar. "I am sorry," she said quietly, "That things turned out this way." Link laughed shortly behind her, but she didn't need to turn to see the misery she knew would be on his face.

She had returned him to his childhood. And in eight years since, all he had found was a childhood home he no longer belonged in, an adult world he couldn't fit in with, and a driving urge to move and wander and avoid the trappings of regular life.

They had made him like this - the Hero That Time Forgot. The two of them alone knew what had happened to turn Link from an innocent child to a young man that didn't fit in anywhere. Too Hylian for the Kokiri, too Kokiri for the Hylians, and too much of a Hero to settle down in to anything resembling normalcy.

"Link," she finally said, voice cracking, "I need your help."

Even without looking, she could see him snap to attention, and she hid a sad smile. Ever the dutiful one - Link had a loyalty to her that she couldn't quite bring herself to understand.

"What is it? If you need me to do anything..."

Slowly, she turned, hands held out. Link stiffened in surprise - in her gloved hands were three gems. Spiritual Stones, golden surroundings over a brilliant green emerald, a bright red ruby, a shining blue sapphire. "...The stones?" he asked, a note of doubt in his voice.

"And the ocarina," she confirmed, turning to set the stones in their place. When she next faced Link, it was with the Ocarina of Time in her hands. "Link, I've been having troubling dreams lately. I fear a new threat may be approaching, and I have reason to believe that you are the only one who can stop it." Imploringly, she met his gaze. "We have ways to ensure that _he_ will never escape the Sacred Realm... will you take up the Master Sword once more?"

Link was silent for a moment, and Zelda could practically see the wheels turning in his head. It meant a return to heroics, but was that even what he needed? What he'd ever want? Guilt gnawed at her, settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Of course," he said quietly, swallowing hard. Zelda nodded once, then lifted the ocarina to her lips.

As the medley of the Song of Time combined with the grinding of stone on stone as the Door of Time opened, she turned back to Link. "Thank you," she said with a tired little smile, and led him up.

Silently, he followed her, accepting the ocarina she pressed in to his hand, hesitating as he stood before the Master Sword again. "It's my pleasure," he said with a sad little smile, then reached for the sword.

Zelda's eyes closed. Words flowed from her lips - an incantation, a plead to Time itself to protect Link on his journey. And as blindingly bright blue light poured from the gap in the stone to consume the Hero, all she could was watch.

And then... she was quite alone. For a moment, Zelda simply stood there, and then tilted her face to the heavens. "Be safe, Link," she murmured, "Do what is right. And... I'm sorry."


	2. Do You Want To Know A Secret

For what felt like a very, very long time, Link drifted.

It was almost peaceful, here. Quiet, dark, almost warm - like being tucked up in bed on a cold winter's morning, like something he couldn't quite name. He could drift along in relative contentment, eyes closed even if it was dark outside, free from obligation or physical needs.

Why was he here, again? He couldn't quite recall.

But he couldn't stay here forever, could he? No, he couldn't. Touch was starting to return to his world - to his mild surprise, he found himself clutching metal in one hand and porcelain in the other. Something was tugging oddly at his clothes, eliciting a shiver every time cold fingers wormed his way in to stroke his skin.

Something wasn't quite right.

And suddenly there was motion, motion and light and a sudden shock of heaviness. Link dragged in a lungful of air and promptly started coughing, water spilling from between his lips, ocarina tumbling from his fingers as he clung to... cloth? Yes, fabric, some smooth weave embroidered with something he couldn't determine.

"Calm yourself," a steady voice told him, and now he could feel hands holding him up. There was grass beneath him, a warbling sound that indicated the nearby presence of water, and - ah. Well, at least that explained why he was soaking wet.

"What -" he started, and immediately lapsed in to another coughing fit. How had he not even noticed where he was? If this person hadn't been there...

Finally, he managed to stop shivering and coughing enough to rake his sopping hair out of his face, rub muddy water out of his eyes. "Thanks," he croaked, lifting his head to take in his saviour.

And he froze.

Messy golden hair, sticking up in damp clumps, bangs covering one full side of his face. Dark skin, even darker than his own tan, smooth and clear, the shape of one delicate cheekbone visible above the mask covering his mouth and nose.

The symbol on his tunic, the one he hadn't recognised at first - an eye, bright red against stark white.

And another bright red eye, this one surrounded by dark eyelashes instead of woven triangles, pale brow furrowed in confusion.

How could he forget that voice? How could he ever forget that face? For a long, long moment, Link simply stared at him, his oxygen-starved brain unable to understand how this was ever possible.

Because Link had already seen him disappear once.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and Link found himself transfixed at the sound of his voice, at the faint hint of movement of his lips behind the mask. It was debatable that he had even registered the question.

And this was simply too much.

"Hi, Sheik," he managed to force past his aching throat, and was almost relieved when the ground rose up to meet him again.

 

Now, instead of the motion of water, it was soft linens that cradled his body. With a return to lucidity, there also came a return to pain - he ached everywhere, throat feeling raw, bruised and battered. Dimly, he registered the fact that he was dressed only in a night shirt beneath the blankets - perhaps his old clothes were still soaked.

Not moving yet, Link frowned minutely and tried to discern precisely what had happened. He had met Zelda, as promised, she had given him the ocarina and asked him to retrieve the Master Sword, he had, and then... what?

He had woken up in water, that much he could work out. And he had been pulled out by -

"Sheik!" He sat up fast, then slumped back against the pillow as a wave of vertigo threatened to make him ill. Now, he could see where he was - a calm, pleasant little room, walls, curtains, and bed linens in white, the furniture smooth polished wood. A woven rug covered the stone floor, a small table beside him held a bottle of water.

He wasn't alone, too - a woman glanced up as he called out, apparently in the process of stoking the fire. "Do you need something, my lord?"

Link frowned - he was certainly no lord. "Yes - where's Sheik?" he asked almost plaintively - he didn't know how he had returned, but now he simply needed to see him. He needed the confirmation that he was real.

The woman straightened up, facing him fully, and Link's breath caught again. She was white-haired, yes, but younger than he had expected - smooth tan skin, a mask covering her lower face, red eyes. Another Sheikah? But Impa had said she was the only one left...

(And Sheik. But surely, he had only been a disguise for Zelda?)

"I can assist you with what I may, my lord," the woman murmured again. "Do you require food, a change of clothes?"

Both would be rather nice, but Link had his focus set on something else, and he wasn't about to be distracted. "No, I told you, I want to see Sheik!"

A muscle in the woman's cheek twitched. "Is my assistance not worthy, my lord?" she asked flatly, and Link found himself scowling.

"I'm sure it's fine," he told her with near desperation, dragging himself in to a sitting position, "But I want to see Sheik, and you're not letting me..."

The woman almost glared. "Yes, and I am Sheik. Now, will you let me assist you?"

Link simply didn't respond for a moment, staring at her incredulously. "...No you're not," he finally said.

"Are you judging my birthright and rightful position, _my lord_?" she snapped, and it began to occur to Link that perhaps he had made a mistake.

Still - this woman was claiming to be Sheik, and... she wasn't. "No, but you're not him!" he tried to plead, but the woman was having none of it. With a muttered exclamation that Link didn't quite catch, she practically threw the poker back against the fireplace and threw the door open to storm out -

"Your Majesty, Your Highness," he heard her murmur, "The stranger is awake and... unruly."

"We'll take care of it," a girl's voice answered, and Link glanced up as a small group swept inside the room.

First, a tall, richly-clad young man, dark hair brushed back neatly and held in place with - was that a crown? Beside him was a younger girl, perhaps Link's own age - while the man was watching him in suspicion, she simply looked curious. Bright red hair adorned with a tiara tumbled down her back in a braid.

And behind them - Link's breath caught. Two Sheikah - a girl and - "Sheik," he said shakily. "What's going on? There was this woman and she was really rude..."

The two Sheikah exchanged a glance, then Sheik stepped forward. "As we have had a prior encounter, I will assume you mean me," he said. But to Link's ears... it was strange. Every ounce of familiarity was utterly gone - he sounded distant and professional. "And please act in a courteous and respectful manner between King Eldir and Princess Zelda."

"Zelda's here, too?" he asked, scanning the little group for a familiar face - perhaps she, at least, could explain what was going on. "Good, I want to talk to her..."

The redhead frowned minutely. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked curiously, and Link twisted to look at her. He was frowning as well - something wasn't right, here. Sheikah who were also called Sheik, a Sheik who didn't recognise him, a strange girl claiming to be Zelda, and the minor matter of a king - Zelda's father still lived, as far as he knew, and his name wasn't Eldir.

"I think something isn't right," he said slowly - half addressing this new Zelda, gaze fixed on his hands. "You're not Zelda, Sheik's acting like a stranger..."

The king cleared his throat imperceptibly. "And, of course, there's the minor issue of your crimes," he said bluntly, the look he was giving Link distinctly unfriendly.

Link stared back at him indignantly. "I didn't do anything wrong! What's wrong with waking up half-drowned in a river? Where are my things?"

"Your clothes have been discarded," he said flatly, "As they were veritable rags. This trinket -" He held up the ocarina, and something in Link's stomach plummeted - they thought the Ocarina of Time was a trinket? "Will be returned to you in due course. But then, there is your theft..."

"I didn't steal anything," he said immediately. "Zelda gave me the ocarina. What did I steal?"

Sheik, with a brief murmured word to the king, stepped forward - in his hands was a long bundle, wrapped in white leather, cord keeping it in place. Link could just see a glint of blue, and recognition flooded him - the Master Sword. "This."

Link was silent for a moment. "I didn't steal it," he finally managed, "Zelda asked me to take it - she called me to the Temple so I could take it again."

The king frowned at the redhead. "Zelda, is this true?"

Zelda - the strange one - shook her head. "Not that I recall. Maybe I was temporarily mad." Link's shoulders slumped, but suddenly she continued on - "Something isn't right, though. This is more than just theft - something very odd is going on, I think."

Gesturing to the girl, she hurried off to fetch one of the chairs, setting it next to the bed. Zelda took a seat, curious expression still fixed on her face. "Shall we get to the bottom of this?"

Link hesitated briefly, then nodded. He was still utterly lost - Sheik acted like he didn't know him, the girl called Zelda wasn't the girl he knew, and now he was being accused of being a common thief - as if any thief could get past the Door of Time!

(Ganondorf could, he remembered with a guilty start. But - no, he wasn't going to think about that.)

"Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we?" she said almost cheerfully. "Since you don't really seem to know who we are, I'm Princess Zelda, the dour-looking one is my brother, King Eldir, and those two are our protectors."

Link glanced up at them - Sheik was watching them with detached curiosity, the girl with open fascination. "What are their names?" he asked slowly.

Zelda frowned as she glanced back at them. "Sheik. You should know that." She paused, then shook her head. "Well... maybe not. What's your name?"

Both called Sheik? Link gazed at them both - maybe the woman from earlier had been named that as well. "Link," he finally answered, still trying to search for any hint of recognition in Sheik's face. "My name's Link."

Zelda's answer was a warm, sunny smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Link. Now -"

"This is an interrogation," Eldir reminded her suddenly, "Not a party. Question him on how he stole the sword."

Almost imperceptibly, Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'm getting to that! Well, how did you get it?"

Warily, Link glanced at the king. Then he sighed - he had done nothing wrong, and the truth was an infinitely better policy than lying. "I was travelling. Princess Zelda - the Zelda I know - contacted me and asked me to come to the Temple of Time. She said there was a new danger and that I'd have to take up the sword again. Then she put the stones on the altar, opened the Door, gave me the ocarina, and told me to take it. When I woke up, I was in the water and Sheik pulled me out, and then I woke up here."

Minutely, Sheik nodded. "I can verify the latter part. When I discovered the stranger, he was holding both items."

The stranger? Something tightened in his chest. Interrogation forgotten for the moment, he turned to the Sheikah, hurt written over his face. "Sheik, why are you acting like we've never met before?"

Sheik's brow furrowed again. "Because aside from our encounter by the river, we have not?"

Link's shoulders slumped.

For a moment, Zelda watched him in concern. Then, softly, she pressed on - "What do you mean, you had to take up the sword _again_?"

Still downcast, he muttered, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." And why would they? He was the Hero That Time Forgot - wasn't that how Zelda had dubbed him once? Not even old friends knew what had happened - let alone these strangers who assumed he was a thief.

"How do you know unless you try?" the princess said smartly.

A faint smile twitched on Link's face. "I guess. Well, it's a long story..."

"We have time."

"Not that much," the king said dryly, "I have a meeting with the merchants in two hours."

Again, Zelda rolled her eyes. "Yes, we know. Go on, Link."

Link exhaled slowly, lifting his face to meet her gaze. She wasn't Zelda, not the one she knew, but there was some similarity there. Some air that made him want to trust her.

Haltingly, carefully, he began.

 

It took him a good half hour to recount everything that had happened. From his meeting with Navi in the forest, to the Deku Tree, to meeting Zelda in the castle, to his quest for the stones. His voice faltered as he explained how he had taken the Master Sword and woken up seven years later, sank to an uncertain murmur as he recalled Sheik and his guidance as he collected the medallions and awoke the Sages.

His voice all-out dropped in to a whisper as he described Sheik's disappearance and his reunion with Zelda, then gained a moment of confidence as he explained the battle with Ganondorf and how Zelda had sent him home.

"And that was it," he concluded with a soft sigh. "I left the sword where it was supposed to be, went back to Zelda so we could stop Ganondorf from taking over, then left. I went to all these places, like Termina and Labrynna and Toaru, and I helped people as much as I could. Then, two weeks ago, I got a letter from Zelda asking for me to come back to the Temple of Time... and you know the rest."

There was ringing silence for what felt like a very long time. Then, finally, Eldir said, "A foolish, fantastic tale to distract from the truth. No, you are merely some clever thief in the night, spinning lies and fictions to explain your crimes."

Link glared at him outright. "I'm not lying! Everything I said is the truth - it's not my fault that only me and Zelda remember it!"

The other Zelda glanced between the two, holding her hands up to placate them both. "Both of you shut up. There's an easy way to test this, you know."

"Lock him up and see if any fairies come to rescue him?" Eldir muttered.

Zelda punched his arm - it was probably a good thing that she was his sister, because a lesser person would have been strung up for it. "No. We see if he can actually hold the sword. If he is a Hero of Legend, he should be able to."

Eldir hesitated, then actually nodded. "Perhaps. And perhaps the rest of us should, too - that way, we can confirm that it is indeed the Blade of Evil's Bane."

"If it's not, then what's the problem?" Zelda pointed out, then gestured to the two Sheikah. "Can you two go first?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded - as Sheik laid it on a table and dragged the leather bindings off, she rested a tentative hand on the hilt. Barely ten seconds had passed before she jerked it away, frowning. "It tingles!"

Zelda shot a triumphant look at Eldir, who scowled and almost knocked Sheik's hand away (he had lasted only a second or two less than the girl) to test it himself.

Almost instantaneously, he jerked his hand away again.

It was Zelda who could last the longest - fifteen seconds, her fingers twitching as she lifted her hand away. A thoughtful expression was on her face - fascination and curiosity. "I didn't realise it felt like that," she murmured, then sighed and (quickly) shifted the sword and its wrappings on to Link's bed. "Good luck."

Link nodded distractedly, and reached for the sword. He didn't feel any of the tingling the others had reported - just the usual warm pulse that ran from his fingertips, up his arm to his chest. It fit in his hand like it had been made for it - for just a moment, he allowed himself to recall battles, the Master Sword almost an extension of his arm.

It had only been a month or two that he had claimed ownership of the blade - and yet it felt like a part of him. His birthright, his duty and destiny to wield the sacred blade - it responded to him like an old friend.

Absently, he brushed a bit of dried mud away from the blade, fingertips touching the blessed blade itself. The others hadn't been able to do that, had they?

"...I suppose that answers that question," Zelda said hollowly, then, much to Link's complete astonishment, dipped her head to him. "It's an honour to meet a great hero like yourself. You said you were given the title the Hero of Time?"

Link nodded, frowning faintly. They hadn't heard of it? But Sheik had said the Hero of Time was a legend...

Zelda seemed to come to a similar conclusion at roughly the same time. "Link, tell me what year it is," she demanded gently.

He did, and this time, all four swapped glances. "No," Zelda said, "It's not."

And then she told him what year it really was.

Link wasn't particularly aware of anything after that - not the fierce discussion going on, not the way Sheik kept watching him like he wasn't quite sure what to make of that. He wasn't a stranger to time travel - no one who could jump seven years in the blink of an eye could be - but this was... out of his realm of experience.

Four hundred years in the past. No wonder this strange girl was the one named Princess Zelda, no wonder there was an unfamiliar king. No wonder they hadn't heard of the Hero of Time, and no wonder the Ocarina of Time was deemed to merely be a trinket - perhaps it hadn't even been crafted yet. No wonder there were still Sheikah around - now that he looked closely, though, even the symbol itself was different. No teardrop decorated it, the triangle eyelashes repeated beneath it as well, the topmost one replaced with a Triforce.

But then, that left a rather pressing question.

If he had travelled four hundred years in the past - and he was sure the Zelda he knew had had something to do with that - then what in the name of the Three was Sheik doing here?

"Then it's decided," Zelda said, and Link snapped out of his haze. "We'll go to the Temple of Time - if Link's story is true, the sword will still be there while also being with us. We know that he can hold it, at least."

Link glanced down - he had been absently stroking the sword for the last several minutes, it seemed. His hands stilled on it.

"What then?" he asked Zelda directly, "Even if you do decide I'm telling the truth, I'm still stuck in the past." With a Sheik who didn't know him, who hadn't looked away from him since he had first told his story. Well, maybe that explained that - he didn't know Link because they hadn't met.

Zelda smiled at him sympathetically. "We'll work something out. In the mean time, let's have some clothes sent up to you, huh? You won't look like much of a hero in your night shirt!"

Link almost chuckled. She wasn't the Zelda he knew, but he liked her nonetheless. "Okay."

Almost on cue, one of the servants appeared, a bundle of clothing in her hands. Link glanced at them curiously as they were laid on his bed - a long-sleeved white tunic that laced at the throat, sturdy brown pants, a leather belt, a pair of plain brown boots left at the side of the bed. No trademark green tunic or cap, but they looked sturdy enough. "Thanks. Um - what about the sword?"

Eldir frowned, but Zelda immediately butted in - "We'll get you a scabbard. Well, we have to take it with us, and you're the only one that can carry it..."

"Being that he was the one who carried it away," Eldir muttered, and Zelda elbowed him.

"You're so distrusting. We'll let you get dressed, Link." And the little group swept out of the room, leaving him with his new clothes, the blade still on his lap, and the faint sense that he had lost something he hadn't realised he had already had.

 

Castle Town was not the town he remembered.

It was busy, bustling, as lively as always, certainly. But there was a distinctly different air to it, something that not even the change in architecture could explain. Market stalls lined the place, pens of wild animals, a corral of cuccos squawking in a corner. (Link, shuddering, gave them a wide berth.) Shouts and cries came from every direction, strangers buffeting him on both sides - Link found himself with one protective hand on the Master Sword's hilt (and that was the other thing - the only scabbard they had found was one that dangled from his belt, leaving the sword bumping in to his knees at every step) and the other on the pouch Zelda had provided him with to hold the ocarina.

And it stank. Unwashed bodies, animal smells, and a faint undercurrent of... bodily expulsions.

Looking faintly disgusted as he stepped out of the carriage (the King and Princess, of course, were not to walk amongst the populace), he dodged a stumbling drunk and made for the relative peace of the gardens in front of the Temple of Time. And there was another surprise - while the Temple was largely abandoned in his time, here (although empty for the moment), it showed signs of every-day use.

Long rows of benches on either side of the plush carpet (a deep blue lined with gold, he noted absently) led up to a familiar altar. Here, though, the stones were embedded directly, free of their gold surrounds and glinting brightly against the black marble. Link paused only to marvel at it for a moment, then continued on - to where the Door of Time no longer stood.

At its threshold, he stopped. And then, simply, he said, "I told you so."

Because settled in its pedestal was the Master Sword, identical in every detail to the sword Link wore at his waist. As if in a trance, he approached it, drawing his own as he stepped closer.

There was some barrier, some resistance in the way. It was like trying to walk with the iron boots, he noted, every step a struggle to move. He could almost feel water rippling and tugging at his clothing...

"Link!" Zelda called, and he stopped suddenly, almost swaying. His other hand was stretched out to the other sword, the hilt of his own almost hot - he stumbled back as if something had suddenly released him, sucking in a breath as he joined the rest of the group.

"Now do you believe me?" he asked hoarsely.

Zelda hesitated, then nodded once, reaching for his free hand. "You have. I think it's time to go back, now."

But the other sword... Link glanced back at it, then sighed and sheathed his own. Once again, he found himself gazing at Sheik - Sheik met his gaze, then looked away hastily. "Okay. But if you can send me home... I don't want to stay here."

Trapped in the past, with a Sheik who was a stranger to him. It simply hurt too much to want to stay. What had the Zelda he knew been thinking?

Silently, he followed them away, not looking back at the sword. He'd find his own way out.


	3. A Day In The Life

It was a somber Link who returned to the castle. Eldir, who had seemed to have relaxed a little once he had confirmed that the newcomer was no thief, offered him the room he had awakened in - it was small, but still larger than most spaces he was used to, and comfortable.

And now it was there that Link sat, cross-legged on the bed as he and Zelda discussed his options.

"I'm sure there have been stories written about time travel," she was explaining, her Sheikah guardian standing watch at the door. (Eldir and Sheik had left for some official business, much to Link's relief.) "I'll have to look at the archives... or have someone look for me." She pulled a face, and Link quirked a faint smile - she was quite different to the Zelda he knew, the one he assumed was her long-distant descendant.

His Zelda would have jumped at the chance of exploring the creaking shelves of the library. This one seemed a little more... high-energy.

Even the physical resemblance was only faint, a similarity in blue eyes and perhaps a hint of the shape of their jaws. This one had a snub nose covered in a smattering of freckles, faint crinkles around her eyes even at her young age (upon asking, she had confirmed that she was eighteen, the same as him), long, straight red hair falling to mid-back with none of his Zelda's faint wave to it.

But still, he could see similarities. Their kindness, their trust, their enthusiasm.

Already, she was chatting to him like an old friend. Link couldn't help but like her.

"There might not be much," he frowned, then settled back and sighed. "The Zelda I know said that it's supposed to be really rare - that's why it was so important that I could do it with the Master Sword and the ocarina." He turned the little blue instrument over in his hands, then held it out to her. "It'll be a family treasure one day. How come the Door of Time isn't there?"

Zelda peered at him quizzically. "The what?"

"Ah - the door that protects the Master Sword. That's why I had to collect the three stones and get the ocarina - it was the only way to open it so I could get the sword."

She frowned thoughtfully, drawing up one leg to rest her chin on her knee. "I don't really know. No one can take it out of the stone, so I suppose we've never had cause to block it off... ah! How come the stones were in possession of the other races?"

The question threw Link for a loop for a moment. "Uh - why wouldn't they be? They're the Spiritual Stones of the Forest, of Fire, and of Water, aren't they?" But then, maybe these were different stones - the ones he knew weren't embedded in the altar, were they?

"I suppose I don't understand why our sacred objects would be in the hands of non-Hyruleans," Zelda said with a shrug, "Especially non-Hylians."

Non-Hyruleans? "But the Gorons, Zora, and Kokiri are from Hyrule," he frowned, "Aren't they?"

This time, it was Zelda's turn to give him an odd look. "Not exactly. The Zora are permitted to use the lake to visit that temple there, but their main territories are considered to be run by different governments, so they're in Hyrule by geography only. The only inhabitants of the official part of Hyrule are Hylians and Sheikah."

Link exhaled, then settled back on his hands. "Things have really changed," he sighed. "That'll be different by my time."

"Perhaps," Zelda said with a hint of a smile. "A union of the races in and around Hyrule... Sheik, will you fetch us a map of the surrounds?"

Link almost started at the name, but it was the girl who answered. "One map coming up," she smiled behind the mask, poking her head out the door. "Ah - he'll be a few minutes."

"Thank you, Sheik," Zelda smiled, her expression faltering when she caught sight of Link's face. "Link..."

With a sigh, she reached across to pat Link's hand. "I don't understand how it's possible for him to have been there in your time. But he doesn't know you yet... maybe you should get to know him first?" There was a faint glint in her eye. "You said you never got to talk to him that much... well, now you have a chance."

Well, he hadn't expected that sort of advice from the Princess of Hyrule. "I - do you think so?" he asked, almost startled. "He might not want to, or..."

Zelda's voice dropped - with a faint sneaky smile, she leaned forward. "He's been one of my best friends for five years, now. I'll have a word."

Link almost looked hopeful, opening his mouth to reply before the female Sheik called out, "Princess Zelda, that map arrived." Zelda leaned back, looking pleased.

"Thanks - bring it over here? And you don't have to stand at the door, you know."

The girl grinned - even with her lower face masked, Link could see the way her eyes crinkled upwards. "Well, there's not much room on the bed - maybe I can sit on your new friend's lap."

Laughing outright as Link felt his face flush to the tips of his ears, Zelda shifted over a little so the Sheikah could sit next to her. She did so cheerily enough, practically draping herself over the princess as she spread the map out one-handed.

Link found himself smiling a little - this girl was definitely not as serious as Sheik or Impa were.

"So," Zelda started, and Link snapped back to attention. "This red line here is the primary border, but the blue dotted line is the political border. Everyone in that is a Hyrulean citizen and is ruled by my brother, and everything outside has their own government or their own system of leadership."

Leaning over to study it, Link frowned to himself. The border ended at Gerudo gorge - so the Gerudo were not Hyruleans either politically or geographically, their lands partially greyed out. Death Mountain and the upper parts of Zora River were both outside of the blue dotted zone, and, curiously, so too was the entire forest.

Lake Hylia was Hyrulean through and through, it seemed - briefly, he recalled the tunnel that led from the Domain to the lake, and wondered how many Zoras visited the lake anyway. "What's this stuff?" he asked curiously, pointing to the brown colouring on the shore of the lake, spreading out in to the field.

Zelda glanced at it, then back up at Link, curiously. "Hylia Town. Doesn't that exist in your time?"

Link shook his head. "No... there's a creepy lab and a fishing place, but that's it."

Nodding, Zelda pointed to where the fishing place once sat - here, there was more dry land exposed, the lake rather smaller than he recalled. "That's the Lake Castle - my uncle lives there," she remarked. "My father's brother."

He nodded, then pointed to another part. "Okay - and why is Kakariko Village blocked off?" Because, indeed, a solid grey line separated the village from the rest of the field.

The two girls swapped a glance. "Kakariko is closed to outsiders," the Sheikah finally explained, "You can only go there if you're a Sheikah, if you're part of the Royal Family, or if you're a guest of one of the two. And besides, practically no one knows where the real entrance is!"

She grinned mischievously, but Link was still studying the map. "The stairs are there," he finally concluded, gesturing.

"Nope!" she smiled again, and Link sighed. Yet another change...

Barely anything was still recognisable. A village sat where the ranch once stood. Roads crisscrossed the land between it, Castle Town, and Hylia Town. Death Mountain was off-limits, and Link assumed that no bean seller sat at the gate at the river. Sighing, he dropped his head in to one hand.

Why couldn't he just go home?

Zelda swapped another look with the Sheikah - Link vaguely registered her getting up to leave, but didn't look up until Zelda reached for his other hand.

"I know it's hard," she told him gently, "And I know everything's really different. But it's not so bad here, and you're welcome as long as you want."

He smiled faintly. "Thanks."

And then the door opened again - the Sheikah had returned, along with another wheeling a cart that carried several trays of something that smelt terribly good. "Good, hearty food to make you feel better!" the Sheikah grinned as the trays were set on the little table in the corner, "You never know, it might help you feel like a person again. It does when my belly's empty."

Link found himself smiling a little as he slipped off the bed, offering Zelda a hand off. "Thanks," he said again as he took a seat, reaching for a bowl of stew. It did smell very good...

"We'll continue this later, okay?" Zelda murmured, and Link nodded. For now, he had a meal to focus on.

 

 

"Sheik is taking you on a tour of Hyrule today."

Link nearly dropped his spoon back in the oatmeal. "He is?" he blinked up at Zelda - who, really, was looking far too pleased with herself.

"Mm-hmm!" she smiled, settling back. "I arranged it last night. Eldir and I both have things on today, so Sheik - er, my one - will be watching both of us. So that gives your Sheik - well, Eldir's, but who's counting? - a day off, and since you'll have to get used to this place eventually..."

Giving the princess a very suspicious look, Link nodded slowly. "And he's okay with this?"

This time, Zelda paused for half a second before giving him a cheery, "Sure!"

Link almost groaned. This was going to be a long day...

Sure enough, soon after breakfast was finished, Link found himself out in the stables with a grumbling Sheikah, a woolen cloak over his new clothes. It was approaching winter, now, and the days were growing shorter and cooler - already, Link could see that the leaves that still remained on the trees were bright shades of red and yellow.

"Where are we starting?" Link asked cautiously as they saddled up - Sheik swung himself up, looking mildly bored with the whole affair.

"I expect we will explore the perimeter," he said shortly, "Bear east and follow the borders to Hylia, then follow the road back up."

Link nodded, settling in the saddle himself. Oh, it wasn't Epona - she had been stabled at the ranch before he had met with Zelda - but the horse was good enough. Dusky grey to Sheik's palomino, she moved confidently beneath him, Link automatically shifting to compensate.

Glancing up in time to see Sheik glance away, he gave him a questioning look. "You seem comfortable on a horse," the Sheikah observed lightly, and Link smiled a little - this was a nice, neutral topic.

"Yeah - I've been riding for years. I have a horse at home called Epona - she's the fastest in Hyrule."

Sheik simply raised an eyebrow - much to Link's surprise, he could see a very faint hint of mischief there. "Really," he said casually, then, with a yell, launched the palomino in to a gallop, rocketing out of the stables.

Link watched agape for half a second, then launched off himself - much to his mild irritation, it seemed that Sheik did have the fastest horse here. Faster than Epona? Well, he couldn't really tell here - but there was no denying that his was swift.

"You had a head start," Link frowned as he caught up with Sheik, now waiting nonchalantly at the gate. "That's cheating."

Was that a smile twitching beneath Sheik's mask? It might have been. "Perhaps," he shrugged, then set off again at a much more comfortable trot, making for the horse road that wrapped around Castle Town proper. Link took the chance to look around curiously - he had never seen the horse road, especially considering he had never actually ridden up to the castle before.

There wasn't much to see. Instead, Link found himself watching the rider in front of him - a puzzle he was determined to solve.

How could Sheik be here? He was positive the one he knew and the one in front of him were one and the same - the same face above the mask, the same unruly hair (although this one seemed to lack the head wraps his future self possessed and thus looked even more disheveled), the same strong build.

Oh, they were differences, certainly - but those were minor at best. A new set of earrings, thin gold hoops in each lobe - Link raised a hand to touch his own blue hoops, recalling how Impa had told him several years ago that pierced ears were a Sheikah rite of passage.

A new set of clothes - oh, Link could see similarities. At the same time, though, they weren't what he had expected - loose grey pants, a dark blue tunic bound at the wrists and upper arms, a sleeveless tunic worn over that with that strange modified Eye symbol over it. A rather minor part of him (well - a minor part he was only certain had awakened the first time due to Sheik's influence) rather missed the form-fitting outfit, admittedly.

But still - it was Sheik, and Link was utterly lost. All through his journey, Sheik had been there - and then he had vanished, and Zelda could only apologise and reassure him that he wouldn't be forgotten.

And so Link had a mystery on his hands. Perhaps Sheik would travel through time as well, perhaps he would find Zelda and learn to protect her the way he had (and how that worked, Zelda had never explained). Perhaps the Sheikah were extraordinarily long-lived, never changing their face or age - but no, then he would still be present in the world Link had returned to. Unless he had been in hiding...

It was maddening.

Dimly, Link registered the fact that they had stopped - the horse road had come to an end, emptying out at the courtyard near the gate. He glanced once at the gate house, remembering the bored guard that had been stationed there when he was young and the Poe salesman that had replaced him during the war, then back to Sheik. "Are you ready to go?" the Sheikah asked.

Link gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah, let's be off. I'm not really a town person."

Sheik gave him a mildly curious look, then nodded. "Let us be off, then." And he started off, over the moat and in to the field itself.

That was better. Link breathed in deeply, the smell of grass and trees and flowers far more welcoming to him than the smell of the market. Even the castle seemed horribly stuffy in comparison. Off in the distance was a hint of wood smoke - he could see faint streams of the stuff from the village in the center of the field, rich and sweet. He hadn't even smelt it in Castle Town, overwhelmed by... other scents.

"This way," Sheik told him, seemingly a little more relaxed himself as he and the palomino trotted towards the river. Here, the bridge was almost even narrower, close to being an all-out rickety mess. Link's dusky grey trod carefully, both horse and rider relaxing once they were on solid ground again.

Dew still coating the long grass, Link sat back comfortably as they approached the Kakariko stairs - or rather, where the stairs would be at some point in the future. Now, there was merely an expanse of blank rock - Link gazed at it in some fascination. How did people get to Kakariko, anyway?

Still, he didn't really have a chance to ask. Sheik led them by it with nary a word.

For the most part, Hyrule looked much the same. Once, Link asked a question - "How do the Gorons go to Hyrule, if they need to?"

"They don't," Sheik had answered shortly, "My people are on diplomatic terms with them, and the village borders their territory. They go through us."

The mouth of the river was the next surprise. Certainly, Link recalled the tunnel he had swum through to get to the upper river and the Domain, but this was new - instead of a tunnel, there was an almost solid wall, water escaping through a barred gap beneath the surface.

The message was clear - no one was to go in, no one was to go out.

By the time they reached the borders of the forest, Link was already in a somewhat miffed mood. It was Hyrule, but not _his_ Hyrule - what could be accomplished with this forced isolation? He had allies amongst the Zora (and, briefly, an accidental fiancee - Zelda had had to explain to Ruto, very diplomatically, why she and Link couldn't be betrothed when she had returned the sapphire all those years ago), a Sworn Brother amongst the Gorons - this separation would do nobody any good.

Thrice - for a brief amount of time, he had _been_ a Zora, a Goron, a Deku. Even if the masks still remained in Termina, the impact of being them had never worn off.

And here, too, the message was the same. Sheer cliffs, no paths, the tops of trees visible above but with no clear way up. That, he didn't mind so much - the Kokiri (if they existed in this different time) should have been protected from the Hylians.

And on they rode, Sheik silent but for the occasional murmured direction or commentary - "Turn right at the next fork", or perhaps, "Much of Hyrule's agriculture is from here." As the wilderness of the field gave way to paddocks and pastures, Link found himself rather missing it.

This was a vast area, then. Wheat fields and pastures for cows dominated, becoming increasingly more inhabited as they progressed - scattered buildings became clusters of houses, the fields getting smaller and more compact, and by the time they reached Hylia Town, Link could scarcely tell where it ended and the pastures began.

"We will stop here for lunch," Sheik decided, and Link nodded almost enthusiastically. Over the course of their ride, the sun had reached its apex and started to sink again - it must have been a couple of hours past midday.

"Right! Can we eat by the lake? I like it there." Oh, he wasn't about to say why - but the lake still held a special spot in his heart.

Sheik paused, then finally nodded. "That would be acceptable. I have an errand there, anyway."

Link nodded, almost asking then deciding better of it. "Okay. We should get fish - they're really good by the lake."

Was that a smile he caught beneath the mask? "We can get fish, if you like."

"Thanks!" Link grinned sunnily, trying to get a proper smile back in return. Well, if Sheik didn't remember everything that had happened during the war, he'd just have to try and rebuild what they had now. After all, surely anything they did now would carry on to the future? Perhaps Sheik would remember his friendship now, and that would lead them to new things down the line - or, perhaps, they could change time and the future would hold something more than friendship.

 _...Stop that,_ he scolded himself. His own wants were irrelevant, now - it was Sheik who held power over him at this point in time, Sheik whose decisions would drive this relationship or whatever he wanted to call it.

Link was quiet as Sheik picked up their lunches, fresh lake fish with a dash of herbs and thick, crusty bread. Settling on a dock he didn't remember being there, horses tied up in a nearby corral, his gaze inevitably slid across to the island, the tree on it small and bedecked in green.

The Triforce platform was still there. Vaguely, Link wondered if he could still warp there.

"You waited for me there," he said suddenly, gesturing to the island with his piece of bread. "After the Water Temple."

Sheik glanced at him sharply. "You should not tell me any more of the future," he told him flatly, intensity in his visible eye. "It may not come to pass."

"It already has," Link rebutted stubbornly, and continued. "You don't even have to teach me a song or anything. You don't have to tell me where to go next or tell me another story. Why do you come to see me when you don't have to? Is it because you're worried about me?"

"I don't know," the Sheikah snapped, and stood up. "It hasn't happened yet and quite possibly never will."

Link stood as well, not even noticing as his remaining fish dropped from his plate and was promptly stolen by a gull. "Well, it's going to happen! It already has happened! And I don't know if you're going to travel through time like me or if it's something else, but you seem to actually like me a bit then, so maybe you should start liking me now!"

Sheik was silent for a moment, stock still. "I have an errand to attend to," he finally said coolly, "I'll be back shortly."

And he turned and left without a word.

Link stared after him, mouth open to give him a rebuttal. Then he simply sighed, shoulders slumping.

Not only was Sheik indifferent towards him, he seemed to almost actively dislike him. Practically throwing himself back to the dock, he stared out at the water, the clouds overhead turning it slate grey. So much for Zelda's plan of them becoming friends.

What if Sheik was right - what if time did change? What if their argument here changed the future, and they failed just because Link couldn't stop pushing the issue? Stupid, stupid.

So it was much to his surprise when he felt a hand drop on his shoulder - Sheik stood there, a package and a letter in his hands, worry etched all over his face. "We have to return," he said abruptly, "Gather your things."

Briefly, Link considered arguing - but the expression on Sheik's face convinced him otherwise. Instead, he just nodded, returning his plate to the vendor and heading back to retrieve the horses.

As the two of them thundered out of town on the road back to the castle, Link couldn't help but wonder what had worried Sheik so much.


	4. Let It Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, coarse language, lewd suggestions.

It wasn't good news. The letter Sheik had received had detailed information of skirmishes and raids, targeting border towns and lone outposts. While no lives had been lost, more than one farm had lost its livestock - stolen, not slaughtered, whisked away to never be seen again.

It was only a matter of time, the letter said, before fatalities began to occur.

The mood in the castle that afternoon was somber. Eldir paced the library floor, Zelda fidgeted. The two Sheikah were engaged in a rapid-paced conversation in a language Link didn't recognise - the Sheikah language, he assumed, pausing for a moment to simply listen to the melody and flow of it.

Glancing back at Zelda, the princess shrugged. It had been her idea for Link to attend the meeting, knowing that he had experience in war - it wasn't pleasant experience, but perhaps it could help.

"And there's no _pattern_ to it," Eldir burst out in frustration. "We think they're beginning to progress, but then they fall back. And then they move back to the same avenue of attack they used before..."

Link frowned, glancing down at the map - while they were constrained to one area (the densely populated region around the lake and the valley), there was no real rhyme or reason to the attacks.

"And you're sure it's not the Gerudo?" he frowned - Nabooru might have been a noble thief, but the rest of her people weren't quite as kind as her.

Zelda shook her head. "No - Gerudo raids tend to involve more, ah, ravishing." She turned a little pink. "This isn't really their style. This has some theft, but it's mostly breaking things for the sake of breaking things."

Silence fell for a few long moments. Finally, Eldir spoke up again. "We'll need someone to investigate. Sheik, leave at nightfall after we dine."

Link's head snapped up the moment Sheik murmured a, "Yes, Your Majesty." They were going to send him in? On his own, with knowledge only of violent raiders?

"No, that's stupid!" he protested, "He'll be by himself and we have no idea what we're up against, it's not safe!"

Sheik ignored him, turning to Eldir instead. "Would you require me to simply gather intelligence, or to sabotage their efforts as much as possible?" he asked, voice steely - he was, quite simply, having none of Link's over-protectiveness.

Eldir considered for a moment, then suggested, "Intelligence for now, but if you can safely sabotage them, then I will let you use your best judgment on that."

Hands balled in to fists at his sides, Link didn't say anything. He had a very bad feeling about this - he was sure there was something they were overlooking, or perhaps they were overestimating Sheik's skill or underestimating their enemy's... all Link knew was that he did _not_ want Sheik going in to danger like that.

"Zelda," he murmured to the princess, "Please let me go with him? It'll be safer, won't it?"

Zelda looked torn, but still, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Link..."

Shoulders slumping, Link nodded and slumped back. Zelda bit her lip, then reached over to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Sheik is extremely good at what he does, and, well... having you around may be a distraction," she told him gently. "Unless he says he wants you there, it'd be best to let him do this on his own."

Again, Link simply nodded, and if he registered the frown Sheik was aiming at him, he didn't speak a word of it.

 

 

The hours seemed to fly by with indecent haste. All too quickly, it was nightfall, time for Sheik to depart.

But Link had been ready since the meeting. At the stables, he cornered the Sheikah as he readied his horse.

"Let me go with you."

"Absolutely not," Sheik told him, buckling the saddle in place. "This is a stealth mission, and you're about as subtle as an explosion."

"I can do stealth," he promised, the Gerudo fortress coming to mind. "You just never asked me if I could. I managed to sneak around the castle guards when I was ten!"

Sheik snorted. "Those imbeciles? Any child with a modicum of self-preservation could do the same." And he reached up, adjusting the bridle and setting it in place.

Link frowned, moving to catch his hand - instead, he found himself with an iron grip wrapped around his wrist and an intense pair of red eyes glowering up at him. (Much to his lasting embarrassment, it was the sight of both eyes at once that temporarily rendered Link speechless, not the fingers pressing in to the pressure point.) "Don't," Sheik told him, voice brittle, "I don't need help. Especially not from you."

And he let go, swinging himself up in to the saddle. "Move or I'll trample you," he said shortly - Link scowled, then stepped aside.

"You're making a mistake, let me go with you!" he pleaded, then had to leap back even further as the horse stormed out. "Sheik, wait!"

But it was too little, too late - Sheik was already a dim blur making for the horse road.

Link stood there for a moment, almost rooted there in shock. Then he set his jaw and headed back to the castle, making his way to Zelda's room - she had showed him the way there the night before, had given him an open invitation to go there whenever he needed her help.

Well, now he needed it.

"Sheik just left," was the first thing that left his mouth when she opened the door, hair already loose around her shoulders - it seemed that she had been getting ready for bed.

The princess sighed, then stepped aside to let him in. "Link, there's nothing we can do," she said tiredly, "And he's not exactly incompetent, you know."

Slumping down on the seat she offered, he nodded. "I know - but what if he gets in trouble without me? It could be really dangerous on his own..."

The Sheikah girl frowned, then pointed out, "But you did dangerous stuff by yourself all the time, didn't you? Why's this different?"

Link's mouth opened, then snapped shut again. "It - it just is, I'm - well..." Okay, so he didn't have a good answer. That didn't mean that he wasn't still worried. "One of the last times I saw him, he was getting thrown head first down a flight of stairs by an invisible monster he couldn't fight. Wouldn't you be... concerned?"

"Didn't it knock you out as well?" Zelda reminded him dryly, and Link ducked his head. He had said that, hadn't he...

But still, Zelda gave him a sympathetic smile. "Look - if he doesn't return by morning, then you can go after him. But I can't promise he'll be very happy about it, okay?"

Link almost sagged in relief. "Thanks. I just... have a bad feeling about it." A gnawing in the pit of his stomach, ice in his veins.

Zelda cast him a worried look, then nodded. "It'll be fine," she told him quietly, "I promise it'll work out."

He nodded again, then slumped back against the soft seat and sighed. "I hope so."

The morning seemed to be a very, very long way away...

 

 

Morning arrived, and still there was no sign of Sheik. Link, who had been awake since before the sun had risen, was ready to leave even before much of the castle was awake, Master Sword strapped to his hip, ocarina in its pouch, a borrowed bow and quiver slung over his back. A hookshot wouldn't have gone astray, either - but still, he'd go after Sheik no matter how under-prepared he was.

Zelda had also risen early, it seemed - shortly after he had arrived at the stables, she did too, bleary-eyed and tailed by her Sheikah servant as well.

"Good luck," she murmured, then handed Link a couple of bottles - the blue substance inside them sloshed heavily, and Link nodded gratefully.

"Thanks," he told her as he tucked the potions away in the horse's saddlebag. With some luck, he wouldn't need them - but on the off chance that they would, it would certainly come in handy. "I'll be back as soon as I can - preferably with Sheik."

Still looking worried, Zelda nodded, then stepped back. Link gave her an unsteady smile and launched the horse out of the stable, making for the horse road - and, hopefully, Sheik.

No time for sightseeing, now. It was still early enough for the land to be shrouded in mist, and Link rode in silence - he'd make for the pass where Sheik was to head in to investigate, then see what he could find there. Any moment, though, he half expected (half hoped?) to see him appear through the mist, successful and safe, all of Link's worrying in vain.

For one fleeting moment as he approached the lake, he thought he was right. But no - the horse that appeared had no rider, half-staggering, frothing slightly, and covered in arrow wounds - setting his jaw, Link dismounted and moved to approach it.

Sheik's horse, then. And injured - his instincts had been right, then. Grimly, he led both horses to a secluded spot with a small stream and fresh grass, then collected one of the potions and pressed on on foot.

Link was certainly no tracker. But he still recognised the signs of a skirmish - grass bruised and bent, scuff marks in the mud, the shape of something large having hit the ground. Hoof marks tore off in the direction he had just come from, but in the other... well, the rain the day before came in handy. A dozen or more booted footprints led off in the other direction to where Sheik's horse had fled.

For a long moment, Link lingered there. Then he hurried off in the direction of the prints with scarcely a thought for his own safety.

The prints led to a cave - well, he had half-expected that. Moving more slowly now, he approached - there were no torches lit, and daylight was quickly running out as he moved deeper - one hand trailed against the wall lightly to keep his place, feeling each new spot on the floor with his feet before letting his weight rest there.

Ahead, he could hear sound - voices, arguments, a fierce debate about something he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Swallowing, he continued to move forward, sticking close to the walls as soon as light began to appear at the other end.

The cavern looked temporary at best. The lanterns they had set up were rough, makeshift, and the furniture seemed to consist largely of large rocks and wooden crates. A large stash of weapons rested to one side, a few cloths were scattered around, and, in the centre, a small group sat and conversed.

Hylians, mostly, although he was sure at least one or two were Sheikah. Mostly rough-looking, they looked as if they had been living wild for some time - if nothing else, their speech was certainly rougher than their appearance.

"I say we kill 'im and leave 'im for King Boy."

"Sure about that? Don't want them knowing about us yet - maybe we should just dispose of him."

"Nah, nah, gentlemen - we should have some fun with the kid _then_ kill him and send him to the King."

"Hyeah. Fine body like that, it'd be a waste."

Link felt his stomach clench - they couldn't be talking about Sheik, could they? Because he was quite firm on the idea that he'd kill anyone who tried to do that. Taking a steadying breath, he glanced around -

And that was when he saw the booted foot extending from beneath one of the cloths.

His breath caught. He had seen that boot, of course - it was the same type Sheik had been wearing when he had stormed out of the castle. Glancing warily up at the group, Link started inching along the wall, trying to make his way to the shadowed spot where the cloth - and Sheik - were.

This would be complicated. If he startled Sheik, they could attract the attention of those men, and he didn't know what state the Sheikah would be in. Would he be able to fight his way out? Link didn't like his chances of fighting off a dozen heavily-armed fiends with Sheik to protect as well.

Now that his eyes were adjusting, he could see more detail - could make out, beneath the cloth, where his knees bent, the line of his torso. Both arms were twisted beneath his back, it seemed, the wrists bound together - they were, at least, facing him, but he'd be looking in the other direction, unable to see his rescuer.

Link bit down on his lip, then silently inched closer to his head - and, through the cloth, he whispered, "Don't make a sound."

Sheik stiffened, then nodded - he could see that motion, at least. As well, he could see the way he shifted his arms - Link nodded again, then withdrew the pocket knife he had taken from the castle and slowly reached beneath the cloth to slice the cords on his wrists.

Right - that was one less obstacle. Leaning in again, he whispered a question - "Can you walk?"

This time, Sheik hesitated before he nodded and shrugged at the same time. Link frowned, then slowly began to inch the cloth off him.

What he saw wasn't pretty. The side of Sheik's face that he could see was a mass of bruises, nose bloodied and his lip split open, an open wound on his forehead trickling blood through his hair. Lacerations covered his back even through the suit, and one boot was utterly gone - the foot that had been hidden was a swollen mess. He looked utterly unwell.

"Potion," he whispered as he uncorked the bottle, tilting a little to Sheik's lips. Just a mouthful, for now - enough to get up him and moving, and he could have the rest once he was safe.

Slowly, carefully, he slipped an arm around Sheik's upper body, helping to drag him in to a sitting position - and then an outraged shout of, " _Hey_!" rang out.

Link swore - and not just because Sheik's fingernails had just dug in to his arm.

"Sorry in advance!" he told the Sheikah, then scooped him up in both arms and ran like their lives depended on it - which, quite frankly, they did.

"They have arrows!" Sheik warned him breathlessly, squirming to try and twist around and see. "They're - poisoned ones..."

Poison? At least that explained Sheik's illness - and his horse, he realised belatedly. Still, there was no time to worry about that now - if only Link’s horse remained, they'd just have to ride together.

Now, they were close enough to shoot. Link bit down on his lip, then shifted - ducking around a bend, he turned to face them. "Get on my back, hurry," he said urgently, "I need my hands free."

Sheik did so, surprisingly agile despite his wounds and poisoning. And Link raised both hands to the ceiling and slammed then down again, smiling grimly when a flickering blue halo covered them both.

"Nayru's Love," he told Sheik as they ran on, "It only lasts a few minutes, but..."

There! A few minutes was all they needed - already, he could see daylight. And just in time, too - arrows were starting to fly past them, a few pinging as they bounced off the barrier he had created.

"Nearly there!" he shouted over his shoulder as they plunged back in to daylight, Link's boots slipping and sliding in the mud that had aided them earlier. Already, he could see his own footprints from earlier -

And that was when the barrier started to sputter - right as the gang spilled out of the cave. "Stop right there or we'll shoot you dead!"

Well. That wasn't good.

Taking a steadying breath, he turned to face them, drawing his sword. "Can you do that teleporting thing with Deku nuts?" he murmured to Sheik, feeling more than seeing his nod. "Good. About two hundred paces in the direction we were going - the horses. Get out of here. More potion in the saddlebag."

He'd stay and fight, give Sheik a fighting chance. Let him escape - anything else was just secondary, now.

"Bet you fancy yourself a hero, huh?" one of them drawled, fingering a knife in a way that just wasn't healthy. "Hyrule's finest! Charging in with a sword and a bit of bravery! This is real, kid."

Another stepped forward, and now Link could see for certain that he was a Sheikah - Sheik's arms tightened around his shoulders, and Link had to fight the urge to turn and frown at him. Why hadn't he escaped yet?

"Be reasonable, lad. Hand over the boy and you can go on your way," he said flatly.

Link shifted in to a fighting stance, Master Sword held aloft. "Eat Moblin shit," he practically snarled back, and he had the bizarre thought that Saria would have clipped his ear for that. "Where he goes, I go."

"And where we're going," Sheik told them softly, "Is away from here."

And without warning, there was a blindingly bright flash of light. Disoriented, Link staggered - right in to the side of his horse.

"You carried us both?" he asked, almost impressed, then crouched to let Sheik down. "I didn't know you could do that."

Sheik didn't answer immediately, and neither did he let go of Link. "...Exhausting," he finally muttered, clinging to Link for more than just support. "We have to go."

Link paused, then nodded, turning to try and find the other horse. He frowned at what he saw - it was shivering from the poison, succumbing to it faster than Sheik himself was. "...Ah," the Sheikah sighed, "Sorry, Telor. Link, I will ride with you."

"Are you sure?" Link frowned, then sighed. They really had to leave. "Okay."

Climbing on a horse with an injured person was not exactly easy, especially considering Sheik could put no weight on his left foot and seemed to be about to pass out from exhaustion. But finally they were on - and just in time, as the sound of the bandits was beginning to approach.

"Let's ride!" Link told him firmly, and the two tore out of the cave just in time for the bandits to see them disappearing in to the distance.

 

 

Link was pretty sure he was wearing a crease in to the floor.

He had barely stopped pacing the floor outside the healer's rooms since they had returned. Sheik had succumbed to unconsciousness during the trip back, nearly giving Link heart failure - every bit of energy had gone in to making sure he stayed on the horse and safe (or, at least, as safe as he could be while injured and poisoned), and he had been whisked away the instant they had returned.

Zelda and the Sheikah girl (and Link had to find out a name for her - he simply couldn't see her as 'Sheik', but anything else felt so impersonal) waited with him; Eldir had been by and then been ushered off to a meeting, worry etched on his face as he had gone.

The door opened, and Link practically jumped out of his seat, ears pricked as the healer turned to Zelda. "The Sheikah is through the worst of it," he explained, and Zelda practically deflated as well. "Although he may have some scarring where he had to extract the arrow heads, and it will take some time for the poison to be purged from his system. It's fortunate this young man was able to get there in time."

Link smiled weakly. "Can we visit him?" he asked immediately, so full of nervous energy that he wasn't quite sure what to do if the healer said no.

Giving him a searching look, the healer finally nodded. "If you like. He won't be saying much, though."

Link barely heard the last part - he was through the door in an instant.

Sheik's bed wasn't hard to find - it was the only one occupied, a screen giving him a bit of privacy. Link took a breath, then slipped around it, movements slowing as he saw Sheik's state.

He was stretched out on his front, head pillowed on his arms, a light sheet covering him (aside from one foot, which had been bandaged expertly and elevated). Where the sheet slipped down his back, Link could see dressing - pads of material, some stained pink.

There were near-identical stains on the front of Link's tunic. He really should have considered changing.

With the blood cleared away, the bruises covering him were even more visible, muddy purples and blues against the paler than usual skin. And his face was uncovered, too - while his expression was slack from unconsciousness, Link found himself gazing at him.

The sweep of his jaw, the curve of his lips - even the bruises couldn't distract Link from his observations.

With a sigh, he reached out to brush a strand of hair out of his face - Sheik made a pained sound, then frowned in his sleep.

Link withdrew his hand, then found a seat nearby and pulled it up to the bed, glancing up only to give Zelda a weak smile as she headed in. For a moment, Zelda looked startled, then nodded.

"You'll stay with him?" she asked him, and Link nodded.

"For as long as he'll let me."

 

 

'For as long as Sheik'd let him' turned out to be several days, at least. Link remained at his bedside, leaving only for the rare spot of sleep (the healer, seeing how he hadn't wanted to go far, had permitted him to use one of the beds on the strict order that he was to vacate it if it was needed) and to wash. Even his meals were eaten at Sheik's side - not always an easy job, given how frequently the Sheikah was ill as he worked the poison out.

By the time consciousness and lucidity began to return to Sheik, Link was running on his last reserves. He was exhausted, four days of little sleep beginning to take a toll - indeed, he had been napping, head pillowed on his arms, when he had felt the hand in his hair.

Blinking his eyes open, he was rewarded with the sight of Sheik, awake and watching him in... sadness? Well, that was odd - as was the fact that as soon as Sheik caught sight of him watching, he withdrew his hand and carefully schooled his expression back to neutrality.

"Got to... report to El-Eldir," he forced through uncooperative lips, "Tell him..."

Link frowned, sitting up and catching his hand. "He's waited four days - he can wait a little longer," he argued, "You're not well, and -"

"Four days?" Sheik immediately frowned, pulling his hand away and trying to push himself up. It didn't seem to do very much good - almost immediately, he collapsed back on his front. For a moment, he laid there, defeated. "...Told you not to come after me."

"If I hadn't, you'd be dead," Link snapped, then frowned when a rather displeased look crossed Sheik's face. "You said so yourself that the arrows were poisoned..." He glanced away. "I'm sorry about your horse."

Sheik simply sighed in defeat, turning his face away. "She was just an animal," he muttered, but there was sadness evident in his voice. Link glanced away, then rested a light hand on his mostly-undamaged shoulder.

"They're never just animals," he murmured - if he had lost Epona, he wasn't sure what he'd do.

For a moment, Sheik didn't respond. Then he turned back, giving Link a small, tentative, sad smile. "No, they're not." Link smiled back, almost just as tentatively - that sad little smile was the first overture of friendship Sheik had offered the entire time he had been there.

And then he turned away again, and the moment came to an end. Link sighed, and settled back in his chair - well, he had waited days for that first gesture. He could wait for another.

 

 

Things progressed quickly once Sheik had awakened. Although he was to remain in the healer's rooms until he had made a full recovery (from the concussion, from the wounds on his back where the arrow heads had been removed, and from the poison - the sprained ankle he would have to deal with on his own), it was now a bustling little place, Zelda and her Sheikah guardian frequent visitors, Eldir popping in a few times a day.

The first time he had arrived, it had been quite the briefing - with Link in attendance to give his version of what had happened, Eldir had asked Sheik to recount the entire thing.

He had been ambushed, Sheik had explained - a rain of arrows had fallen on him, others catching Telor the horse. Sheik had been thrown, explaining the sprained ankle, and then set upon by the bandits. He had lost consciousness and awakened in the caverns, arms twisted behind his back and a throbbing in his head (both from the poison and the head wound they had inflicted).

Over the course of the night, they had interrogated him - a variety of questions that seemed to have little in common with the last. He hadn't answered, and that in turn had led to more punishment - until he had been left to one side, drifting in and out of lucidity until Link had arrived.

And was it Link's imagination, or had he sounded almost... grateful, as he described that last part? Even Eldir had privately thanked him afterwards.

Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to improve.

 

 

Things were definitely starting to improve.

Now that Sheik was on the road to recovery, he and Link had managed to spend more time actually conversing. It had been terse, at first, tense and awkward, little exchanged words interspersed with long silences. But now, almost a week since Sheik had woken up, and things were...

Almost comfortable, really.

Link, however, had been dwelling on something for most of that week. Finally, in the middle of a light, almost carefree conversation, it came out. "How come you didn't like me at first?"

Sheik stopped in the middle of his sentence, looking a bit like a rabbit being considered for dinner by a hungry wolf. Fleetingly, some oddness of expression crossed the part of his face that was visible above his usual mask, then he shook his head. "I suppose I... well," he started, sounding more unsure than he had in the entire time Link had known him (which, admittedly, wasn't long).

"Well?" Link prompted, and Sheik sighed, shoving lightly at his shoulder.

"...I was... jealous," he muttered, barely audible. "You had all these skills... Zelda was all over you..."

Link's eyebrows shot sky high. "Were you _jealous_ of that?" he asked almost incredulously. "I - well, I only see Zelda as a new friend... if you're interested in her, I wouldn't be in the way." And his voice was almost steady as he said that - of course, Sheik would be interested in Zelda. She was funny and warm and pretty, wasn't she?

A frown crossed Sheik's face. "You're not interested in her?"

Link shook his head. "Nope. She's nice, but I like her as a friend. Anyway, I -"

He paused, the 'don't like girls that way' he had been about to say halting on his tongue. "...have - had - have my eye on someone else."

Curious - Sheik had looked almost... intrigued. Maybe he had aspirations as a match maker - or perhaps he wanted gossip. "I see..." he murmured, but didn't pry further.

Then he took a breath, offering Link a tentative smile beneath the mask. "In three weeks, there's a Sheikah holiday in Kakariko. I'd like you to come."

And Link found himself smiling more broadly than he had all week. "I'd like that."

Sheik smiled back, and Link felt something in his chest flip. The next three weeks were going to be quite interesting...


	5. A Taste Of Honey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied sexual content, coarse language.

Three weeks came and went. In all that time, not one person in the castle had worked out how to send Link back to his true time - but, quite frankly, Link was starting to not want to go.

He had regained Sheik's friendship - had even become closer to him than they ever had been in Hyrule, where some invisible, intangible barrier held them apart. Now, no such barrier existed - even the healer commented on how close the two had grown since Sheik's rescue. Where Sheik was, Link was sure to be nearby, separating only for when Sheik's duties forced it to be so.

Now, though, they were together, getting their things ready to leave for Kakariko. Eldir and Zelda had both given their protectors leave, and indeed, the castle was practically emptying of Sheikah. There'd be a veritable river of Sheikah making its way between the two towns - Link, fair-skinned and blue-eyed, would stick out like a sore thumb.

Or, he mentally revised as they stepped out, perhaps not. There were many Sheikah there, and many had Hylian guests - not any huge number, but enough to reassure him somewhat.

Sheik gave him a sideways glance then smiled faintly beneath the mask he still wore. "We'll be there soon," he reassured, and they stepped out in to the road.

The walk wasn't too long, but it was slow-paced and a chilly day, and Link was shivering by the time they approached the cliff that hid Kakariko from view. But it was rather peculiar - as they approached, people ahead of them began... disappearing, vanishing in to thin air. Not with the flash of the Deku nut - they were simply there, and then they weren't.

Brow creased, he turned to Sheik, who shrugged. "It's an illusion," he murmured to him, "To hide the way in to the village. There are others who would dearly love to know."

The Sheikah girl, Zelda's guard, grinned suddenly. "Now you see me," she told the boys, darted forward, and vanished. "Now you don't!" Her disembodied voice was still audible, leaving Link glancing around, startled.

"Ah, don't tease him," Sheik warned her gently, "Just because he's practically blind -"

"Hey!"

"Well, you are, to a Sheikah," he pointed out, "We see things that you don't. Therefore, that makes you practically blind. Come on." And he stepped forward and vanished as well.

Link stopped short. He had known that was going to happen, hadn't he? So why had he suddenly felt like a rock - no, a boulder - had settled in the pit of his stomach?

He tried to draw in a steadying breath, and it came out shuddering. Too many times, he'd seen him disappear - every time he tried to get close, every time he tried to make an overture of friendship - vividly, he could see him disappearing in the Temple of Time.

"Link?" came Sheik's concerned voice, and Link almost flinched. "What's the matter?"

Gulping down another shuddering breath, Link reached out blindly, taking a step forward. And then, quite suddenly, there was a hand in his, Sheik in front of him, watching in concern.

"...Sorry," he said, swallowing roughly. "I - that was weird."

Sheik made a noise of assent, although he didn't let go of Link's hand immediately. "Mm... I suppose it would be disconcerting to someone inexperienced with it..." He gave his hand a little tug, nodding to where he could see Sheikah lining up in front of a gap in the cliff face.

That was odd. He hadn't seen that before.

"It needs blood magic to open it," Sheik murmured as they joined the queue. "A patch of stone near it - you need Sheikah blood, or the blood of a member of the Royal Family."

So he wouldn't be able to go on his own, then... Link's hand, still around Sheik's, squeezed a little. "Thanks for inviting me."

The end of the line was fast approaching. People were being let in a dozen at a time, it seemed - Zelda's protector was the twelfth, turning to give them a jaunty wave. "See you up there," she grinned, then glanced down at their hands - Sheik let go of Link's hand almost self-consciously. "Play nice!"

And then she, too, disappeared through the gap.

Link glanced down at his feet, shifting them awkwardly. "So," he started, then shrugged a little. "We go to your old house, get changed, then go to the temple?" he recounted, and his stomach abruptly grumbled. Well, Sheik had told him to avoid lunch... "When do we get to eat?"

Sheik snorted faintly. "After we go to the temple. We have to drink a tea there - you may become nauseous if you have a full stomach. And I would prefer you weren't ill in my ancestors' house of rest."

"Hey, I didn't complain when you were ill on my _lap_ ," Link retorted, vividly recalling those first few days after Sheik's rescue. "But okay."

Smiling weakly at the reminder, Sheik snapped to attention as the attendant nodded to them. "Our turn," he murmured to Link, then led him through the gap.

Link blinked, trying to force his eyes to adjust - it was a little chamber, the sudden darkness startling to his sun-adjusted eyes, lit only by a single torch. Another Sheikah stood there, handing them a torch of their own to light.

"Straight up the stairs, extinguish the torch with the sand and leave it in the container," he told them - as Sheik led him to the stairs he had barely noticed, Link began to feel anticipation growing.

Kakariko in Sheik's own time - he knew the village like the back of his hand, but this, he was starting to think, would be a new experience.

Honestly, he had no idea.

Ahead, a speck of daylight was beginning to grow. Link glanced across at Sheik, momentarily caught by the way his features were illuminated by the flame of the torch, then grinned. "Last one up is a cucco!"

And he sped ahead, only to stumble over the stairs in the dark. Not to be deterred, he immediately got up again, racing ahead.

First! Settling at the small chamber at the top of the stairs, he grinned down at Sheik, still lit by the torch. "Slowpoke," he teased, wandering over to the doorway to peer through.

...Now, that was interesting. Oh, the shape of the town was still the same, the cliff walls didn't leave a lot of room for change, but not one recognisable building stood in this time. Even the windmill had yet to be built, instead replaced with scattered houses and one large central building, steps from the windmill's old entrance leading up to it.

The houses, too, were radically different. Smaller, more numerous, compact wooden buildings decorated in painted patterns and hanging cloths and herbs drying in windows. Most were elevated, up on stumps, and nearly all had intriguing cooking smells wafting out the windows.

Where, in the village of the future, the single tree leading up to the village proper had stood, there was now a tent - supported with wood, a plethora of brightly coloured fabrics draped over it - reds and purples and blues and golds, mixed in with earthier browns and neutral whites.

"That is where we'll be going after we go to the temple," Sheik said with a nod, having finally caught up. "What do you think?"

Link found himself smiling - despite the reputation he had heard of the Sheikah, it seemed positively friendly. "I like it. How come all the houses look like that?"

"We used to be nomads," Sheik explained, tugging on Link's wrist to get him moving. "This was along our old trade route - we used to go between the desert, the village, and the Snowpeak mountains, north. Eventually, around a century or so ago, we settled here, and the caravans were converted to houses." He smiled faintly. "Even if we haven't gone anywhere in a few generations, even newer houses are built like that. Here we are."

Link glanced up at it automatically. It was higher up, closer to the path that led up Death Mountain (gate now firmly closed), facing the rest of the village - from the front steps, he could look out over the entire vista.

And then he was promptly distracted as Sheik caught his wrist and practically dragged him inside - Link spun around, smiling automatically when he caught sight of the two older Sheikah in the room.

Sheik was already talking, rapid-fire and in a language Link didn't understand - no, wait, there was his name. Shifting awkwardly, he waited until Sheik stopped. "And Link, these are my parents - Miruna and Kalen."

"It's nice to meet you," Link said politely, holding a hand out - Miruna took it, shaking it firmly (Link couldn't help but be forcibly reminded of Impa - she even had white hair).

"And you," she nodded, her speech more heavily accented than Sheik's, "I trust my son has been a good host?"

Link nodded quickly. "He has - thank you," he said with a slightly awkward smile. Really, he never had met the parents very often, and he was finding it difficult to know how to respond.

Much to his immense relief, Sheik seemed to be picking up on it. Again piping up in what Link assumed was the Sheikah language, Miruna nodded, then glanced back at Kalen.

Gaze switching between the three, Link was almost relieved when Miruna switched back to Hylian - "We will see you boys later," she told them, and she and Kalen made their leave.

Sheik sighed a little as the door closed, then moved to flop on one of the beds built in against the wall. "Your clothes should be here soon," he murmured, then pushed himself up again. "Here - I'll show you around."

The impromptu tour wasn't long, given that most everything was in one room. Only once did he remark, when Sheik mentioned the bed he had flopped on was the one he had shared with his brother - "You have a brother?" Link asked in faint astonishment. Somehow, he hadn't expected it, half expecting Sheik to have sprung fully-formed in to the world. Parents - and a brother - seemed bizarre to him.

Sheik gave him an odd look, then nodded. "Mm - Kula. You'll meet him at the feast tonight," he told him, then settled back on the bed, leaning against the wall, gesturing for Link to do the same. "He's at the king's brother's castle, working as a dancer."

A faint smile tugged at the mask. "I created music, he moved to it," he murmured, then abruptly knelt and reached up in to an alcove above the bed.

When he withdrew his hands, an achingly familiar golden lyre was it it.

Link's breath caught. Was that it? The very same one he had played, all those years ago and in the future? "I remember that," he murmured, reaching out to touch it.

The metal was cool, smooth, polished. Almost new - mostly dent-free, every string in place. The one he had seen Sheik play earlier had been old, beginning to tarnish, wrapped in bandages. It was obviously lovingly cared for, but the one he had been playing then was old.

Perhaps, four hundred years old.

Some inevitable proof that the young man sitting next to him was the one who had haunted his dreams for eight years - glancing up from it, he found himself very close indeed to Sheik. Sheik blinked a little, but didn't move away - even if he was close enough that Link's breath sent strands of hair fluttering.

He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped - another knock at the door had interrupted the moment. Sheik frowned, then dropped the lyre back on the bed and moved to answer the door, returning a moment later with his arms full of a bundle of cloth.

"Well, it's nearly time," he murmured, then lifted his head to meet Link's gaze. "Ready?"

Mouth suddenly dry, Link nodded. He was ready for whatever the night would bring.

 

 

The Shadow Temple was another surprise.

No graveyard stood before it, no warp platform elevated above the Royal Family's tomb. Instead, a somber stretch of grass rose to a wide entrance, almost blood-red in the setting sun, pillars set at either end, easy and accessible for anyone to visit.

No, Link mentally corrected himself, the warp platform was still there, but integrated in with the stonework leading up to it. He glanced down automatically as they passed it, apprehension written loud and clear over his face. He had not enjoyed this temple - and now he was to go in there willingly?

He was sticking close to Sheik, in that case.

They didn't have far to go. The first chamber, scarce of its usual torches but instead lit with others around the walls, was big enough to fit the village, everyone gathered around a central platform. On it, hundreds of candles burnt, flickering light sending jarring shadows over the gathered crowd. Feeling prickles run down his spine (and not just because of the itchy, heavy cloak he was wearing over the lighter, brighter clothes beneath), Link reached up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly, so close to Sheik that they were practically touching.

Without warning, he found a heavy metal cup being pushed in to his hands. "Take a mouthful, but don't swallow it," Sheik murmured from beside him - Link nodded and did so, then handed the cup to Sheik.

It was just water, wasn't it? Link frowned thoughtfully, not detecting any taste, but shrugging and doing as Sheik told him anyway. Perhaps there was a faint bitterness to it...

There was a long silence. Link was fast becoming restless, getting annoyed at the liquid in his mouth. Hadn't Sheik called it a tea before? It certainly didn't taste like it - the bitterness was more evident now, a chalky undertone to it.

A voice rang out, and Link jumped - standing amongst the candles was a woman in somber robes, chanting in the same Sheikah language he had heard earlier. All eyes seemed to be on her - Sheik, beside him, was certainly paying attention.

Link did so as well, realising that the horrible-tasting tea was becoming stronger and stronger, pangs of nausea hitting him every few seconds. No wonder Sheik had told him not to eat lunch - he would have been ill by now. Beads of sweat were starting to run down his face - he was either about to gag or about to pass out, feeling waves of dizziness moving over him, clutching hard at Sheik's hand to keep him upright.

And suddenly the moment was gone. His mouth was empty, the nausea and dizziness had disappeared, and he glanced over at Sheik in time to see him pull a face beneath the mask.

"It's starting," the Sheikah murmured, his voice sound hollow and very far away.

Link nodded, and the ceremony began in earnest.

 

 

Afterwards, Link honestly couldn't have recalled what had happened. He had dim impressions only - chanting, a procession down a spiral-shaped room, dropping a handful of something very much like ashes in a fire that burnt purple. He felt stretched, disconnected with the world, the shadows jumping out of him but everything else fuzzy.

And all through it moved attendants, simple robes of dark grey emblazoned with the Eye, mouths and noses uncovered but a strip of black cloth covering their eyes.

As Link stumbled away from the temple, still feeling rather numb, he turned his head to face Sheik. "The - the ones in the grey robes," he mumbled, tongue not working as well as he would have liked. "They - why did they - have their eyes covered?"

"They don't _have_ eyes," Sheik murmured back, his own voice a little steadier, and Link froze in horror. The moment Sheik realised that the Hylian wasn't following him, he paused, turning back to take his hand again. "It's okay. They're Temple attendants. It has to be like that because of the illusions."

Link nodded fuzzily, the nausea returning, still unwilling to move.

Sighing, Sheik wrapped an arm around his waist. "Gets better," he murmured, and started leading him back to the tent in the front of the village.

The tent was a million miles away from the somber Shadow Temple. Shedding the itchy outer robes as they entered, he found himself in a wide, circular room, little curtained chambers surrounding a wider central one. In the middle, a raised platform was set, covered in brightly coloured rugs, and surrounding it was more empty space.

Rich cushions and pillows and blankets were piled up around the empty space, lanterns dangling from above and sending a cheery red and gold glow over everything. It was to these cushions that Sheik led him, letting Link flop against him gratefully.

Before long, the tent had been filled. Now, another cup was being handed around - delicate and gold, patterns etched in to the side. Sheik drank first, swallowed, and sighed in satisfaction, then handed it to Link with the instruction, "Take just a mouthful and swallow it straight away."

Link did so - this tea could not have been more different, rich and sweet and fragrant. As he let it fill his mouth, he felt the heaviness from earlier lifting; as he swallowed he could feel the world returning to normal, colours richer, Sheik's warmth at his side more evident.

Turning to smile lazily at him, he could feel the tension draining away. Indeed, he found himself almost distracted by Sheik's outfit - the red brought out his eyes, the purples made his hair seem even more golden, the blues matched the colours Link himself wore. Gold jewellery glinted around his arms and wrists, embroidery decorating the scarves wound around his face and around his hips. Almost hesitantly, Link reached out to touch one of the beads hanging from the little braids that framed his face.

But now, something else was beginning.

The assembled Sheikah (and guests) were beginning to stand - Link did too, turning to the middle of the room. Now, the raised platform wasn't empty - a young woman stood there, face uncovered, hair loose around her shoulders, wearing only a simple white sleeveless robe that stretched over her swollen belly. She gazed out at the assembled crowd, and she began to speak.

Link didn't understand the words, but he still found himself swept up in them. From somewhere unseen, he could hear the start of music, a ringing of bells, something percussive, instruments and voice blending together. Exotic instruments and the voice of the young woman blending in to something that Link could not tear himself away from - he had never heard anything like it.

Or perhaps it was his imagination?

And then the instruments stopped, but for a drumbeat that sounded like the beat of his heart. Something was building, a crescendo approaching, something monumental and final.

And then everything started again at once.

A bell rang out, music pouring out from every direction, the girl's voice fading beneath it. Music and movement, some deeper undercurrent compelling him to move - no choreography existed, no plans had been made, it was nothing like the orchestras he had heard in the palace, but Link closed his eyes and lost himself to the music.

And he wasn't the only one. A hand brushed his wrist and his eyes fluttered open, finding Sheik there with wonder and openness in his expression, a hand held out in invitation. They could move together, Link realised with an almost fierce joy, entwined in a dance - the blazing light of the lanterns made Sheik look like a living flame, with golden hair and golden skin, red clothing and red, red eyes that were fixed on his own. Not once did they touch, but the movements of their bodies couldn't be anything but joined.

And then all there was was the drum beat, and Sheik stepped close, dragged his scarf down, and kissed him until he couldn't breathe.

Between the music, the incense hanging in the air, and Sheik's proximity, Link wasn't entirely sure when the two of them stumbled in to one of the little chambers. Like outside, it was practically lined with cushions and blankets on top of what felt suspiciously like a mattress, a wooden table at the back holding a delicately wrought lamp and a small, mysterious box.

Suddenly losing his footing, he hit the cushions with Sheik almost on top of him - their foreheads bumped together, Link paused in surprise, then laughed outright, the strange tension broken. He could feel Sheik laughing as well, reaching up to adjust his scarf again before sitting up.

And suddenly, Link realised what was about to happen.

"I don't want to push you in to anything," Sheik told him hesitantly, but Link immediately shook his head, reaching for his hands.

"I've wanted to for eight years," he croaked, glancing down at their hands then up again. Taking a steadying breath, he gestured to the scarf (now back in place again) and murmured, "May I?"

Sheik took a breath, and nodded, and Link slowly snagged the fabric between his fingers and dragged it down again.

He was beautiful, Link decided fuzzily. He had seen Sheik's face before, little glimpses in the healer's rooms back in the castle, but this - with both of them awake and aware and wanting this - this was something else entirely.

Sheik smiled again, and Link could see now that it was a faintly crooked one, a little lopsided. "Not many people are supposed to see a Sheikah unmasked," he said suddenly, and Link found himself fascinated by the way his lips moved in speech. "It's supposed to be immediate family and the ones you serve, and..."

He ducked his head. "My mother and father have seen my face, and my grandmother, and my other grandparents when they were alive. And my brother has seen it. Eldir and Zelda and their father saw it when I was sworn to the Royal Family." The lopsided smile appeared again, and he continued quietly - "The only other one who is permitted to see it is a Sheikah's lover. And... well... do you want to?"

"Yes," Link said immediately, not even having to think about it, voice cracking and not quite caring. "I've wanted to almost since I first saw you - and I came here and you acted like you hated me and -"

And then Sheik was kissing him again, and that was quite nice too.

Gently, he found himself being nudged back against the cushions, a warm body immediately settling at his side. Sheik's fingers were in his hair, loosening the tie and letting it out of the ponytail - it sprang out, still creased where he tied it back.

"Your hair is longer than I thought," Sheik murmured, then promptly distracted himself with more kisses. Link grinned faintly against his lips and ran a hand through Sheik's hair, too - it was short and untamed, but for his bangs, and Link couldn't keep his fingers away from it.

Through the curtained walls, he could see snatches of movement, hear sounds that made heat pool in his belly. It seemed that these secluded little spots were made for this sort of... activity - Link swallowed hard, then reached up to drag Sheik's scarf away.

But then Sheik paused a little, hands resting on Link's shoulders. Leaning in close, he murmured, "Have you... done this before?"

And wasn't that the million rupee question?

Link ducked his head, still not breaking contact between the two of them. "I'm a fast learner," he said softly, and Sheik sighed, dropping his head to Link's shoulder.

"Link," he murmured, and the Hylian almost started to protest then and there. "Wait, listen to me. The tea is a slight intoxicant, and I don't want us to do this like that -"

"But I want to," Link almost whispered, and Sheik silenced him with a kiss.

"After dinner," he murmured, "Once it's worn off. I promise. We can go back to my old place and..." He ducked his head. "You know. It's just... this should be special for you."

Link hesitated again, then nodded slowly. "Okay," he murmured, and a smile started to spread across his face. "Can we kiss some more, though?"

Sheik laughed faintly, and promptly did just that.

 

 

Link was feeling really quite warm.

He and Sheik had emerged from their cocoon a little while earlier once the feast had been announced - the space earlier reserved for dancing was now replaced with low tables and cushions to sit on, sumptuous foods set out for them to dine on.

And he and Sheik weren't the only ones being affectionate - all through the tent, he could see couples of all description - men and women, men with other men, women with other women, Sheikah with Sheikah and Sheikah with Hylian. There was even the odd trio scattered around, too - Link found himself watching in fascination, utterly inexperienced to the diversity and openness he saw now.

He rather liked the chance to be himself. All too frequently, he had heard the nasty remarks about people like him - now, it seemed, the Sheikah didn't care.

He was interrupted from his contemplation, though, when Sheik sat up suddenly. With a wild cry of, "Kula!", he launched himself up and in to the arms of another Sheikah - Link twisted around, curious to meet Sheik's brother, then abruptly stared in fascination.

His hair was different (longer and smoother, more braids, more beads, loops and decorations filling it), his clothes were somehow even more colourful, but the two were identical down to the last facial feature. (Or, at least, the still visible ones - without the privacy of the chamber, both were still masked.) Getting to his feet as well, Link wandered over to where the two Sheikah were chattering away happily in the Sheikah language, Sheik breaking away when he saw him approach.

"Link, this is my brother Kula," he introduced, wrapping an arm around Link's waist. "And Kula, this is Link."

Link smiled a little, holding a hand out to shake Kula's. "Sheik didn't tell me you were twins," he remarked, "It's nice to meet you."

Kula shook it readily enough, giving it an extra squeeze as he withdrew. "'Sheik'? You haven't even told him your name, _Alifha_?" he teased, raising an eyebrow in his twin's direction.

"It means 'brother', and I'll tell you later," Sheik murmured hastily to Link, who hadn't even realised that he had _had_ a name other than 'Sheik', then turned back to Kula, a teasing smile on his face. "You can hardly talk, _Alifha_ , sometimes you don't even say hello before you've charmed them out of their pants."

From the grin on Kula's face, the corners of his heavily-lined eyes crinkling, he wasn't exactly seeing it as an insult.

They returned to the table, Kula and the pretty Sheikah girl with him in tow. If Link was perfectly honest, he was feeling a little restless, now - most of the conversation around him was in Sheikah, Sheik was distracted by his brother, and he had long since passed the point of being full. And with Sheik's after-dinner promise still in mind... well, no one could really blame him for wanting to leave, could they?

Thankfully, finally, Sheik said his goodbyes and nudged Link to his feet. Link followed him out with indecent haste, dragging Sheik close for a kiss that sent them both reeling as soon as they were out of the tent.

"Eager, are you?" Sheik asked breathlessly, a grin crossing his face. "Well, I suppose you should have your reward."

Link could have kissed him. So he did.

It wasn't a long walk back to Sheik's house, but it seemed like an eternity to Link. No sooner than Sheik had closed the door behind him and joined him on the bed had he pulled the Sheikah on to his lap, hands slipping up the back of his shirt to stroke the warm skin there. "Hmm," Sheik remarked thoughtfully, "Rather eager."

"You made me wait all night," Link almost pouted, then brushed another soft kiss across his lips. "And I'm definitely not intoxicated now."

"No, you're not," Sheik remarked, then sat back, looking serious. "Kula is right - I should have told you my true name. Sheikah in my position all use the same name, but..."

Link nodded slowly. "We can start over," he said with a faint smile, then held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Link."

Sheik took his hand, but didn't shake it, instead wrapping both of his around it. "Good to meet you, Link. I'm Sahil."

Sahil? Link turned it over in his mind, then nodded. "That's a nice name. Do you want me to use that from now on?"

"Just when we're alone," Sheik confirmed, and Link nodded. "In front of any others, I am Sheik only."

"Okay, Sahil," Link murmured - then shift him off his lap and tugged him down against the blankets. "And... thanks."

This time, when he kissed him, there was nowhere else to go but onwards.

 

 

Dressed in only a sheet and with a warm, sleepy body curled at his side, Link sat on the front steps outside Sheik's house and watched the sun rise.

Sheik was half-asleep beside him, warm and pliant, head on his shoulder. And Link was almost there, himself - indeed, he would probably be there if he hadn't been woken by Sheik moving around to go and watch the sunrise himself.

Turning to him, he brushed a strand of golden hair away and dropped a kiss on Sheik's temple - the Sheikah stirred, then tilted his head up for a proper one. "Let's go back to bed," he murmured, then abruptly lifted his head - approaching the little house was Kula. "Morning."

Kula glanced between the two, then gave them a tired smile. "I came to say goodbye," he said neutrally, "We've got an early start."

Sheik nodded, beckoning him over (given that he and Link were wrapped in the same sheet, he could hardly get up) and pulling him down for a hug. "Safe travels," he murmured, then added something in Sheikah that made Kula laugh and clip him over the head.

"Brat," he said fondly, then glanced at Link. "May I have a word?"

Link nodded, and Sheik glanced up at the open door then around at their surroundings. "See you inside," he murmured, then slipped away from the protection of the sheet and back indoors.

And suddenly, Kula didn't look quite so friendly any more.

Stepping close, Link caught a whiff of strong alcohol on his breath and reeled back a little, even as Kula pressed both hands against the wall around Link's head to stop him from moving. "You fucked my brother, didn't you?" he asked shakily - Link frowned, then nodded almost tentatively.

"Y-yeah, but he started it, and -"

"Shut up," Kula told him, voice brittle, laughing shakily, then leaned in close. "Listen to me. His body might be yours, he might have given you his heart, but in his blood and in his soul - he's my brother and he's still _mine_. Got it?"

And he spun around and stormed away.

Staring at Kula's retreating back, Link wasn't sure he got it at all.


	6. All You Need Is Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, sexual content.

"To the left! Archers coming up!"

"On it! They're preparing something, what in the name of the Three is that?"

"I don't - ah, get water, fast!"

"I have ice arrows! They -"

"...Too late."

"Western wall is compromised! Repeat, the western wall -"

They were starting to lose ground.

The skirmishes in the past few weeks were no longer contained to just the lake region. Now, they spread - first, they had set Hylia in a state of terror, most citizens afraid to leave their houses, heavily-armed patrols at every border. No one would be getting in or out of the town, now - it was officially locked down.

And then they had moved on - up the northern road to Castle Town.

Now, they were caught in the middle of a full-on siege, and Link was doing everything he possibly could to help stop them.

Gazing down at where his ice arrow had failed to stop the explosives taking out a good chunk of the western wall, he grit his teeth and set the bow away, drawing the Master Sword instead. The gap they had blasted wasn't enough for all of them, but they were starting to stream in anyway - caught in a bottleneck, it was a vulnerable position to be in.

And he was going to take advantage of it.

Nodding across to Sheik, Link steadied himself at the top of the wall then gestured. Both jumped - Link tucked himself in to a ball and rolled, Sheik simply landed with his usual grace - then both started in at the rather surprised attacking party.

They hadn't even remotely been expecting it... it was almost too easy.

With the initial party disposed of, it was easy enough to cut them off as they entered, even as the Hylian guard started maneuvering huge blocks to dam the flow. They could serve as weapons, too, with a bit of creativity - with one block still unfastened, Link shoved at it hard and took out the raider who had been scrambling back up the new wall. He fell back with a scream, and didn't move again.

Link paused for a moment, half-doubled over - he had taken a hit earlier, blood trickling down his arm and making the Master Sword's hilt slick. Then he simply steeled himself again, and waded back in to battle.

 

 

They had won, but barely.

Now sitting in what had been dubbed the war room, Link slumped back against his seat, barely resisting the urge to fidget with the bandage around his upper arm for the thousandth time. He looked distinctly displeased, he wanted nothing more than to escape back to his room with Sheik, and he really needed to clean blood off the sword, but still, he sat and waited for Eldir to give his report.

"We have received evidence," the young king started, looking distinctly displeased, "That this is no mere raid by bandits. At most, this was a skirmish designed to test our defenses - and despite our victory, we still have a damaged outer wall and several dozen of our people dead."

Link grimaced at that. If their side had taken hits, how many were dead on the other side?

And how many at his hands? Link was utterly inexperienced with the death of fellow humans - while a monster posed little philosophical difficulty for him, taking the life of another person... well, he couldn't help but feel a little nauseous. Dropping his face in to his palm, he was dimly aware of Sheik taking his other hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"From our... informant," Eldir continued, and Link caught sight of a flash of discomfort crossing his face (he had a horrible feeling he knew how they had got the information), "We know that an army is being developed beyond the borders. We don't know their aims and goals - but we do know that they consist of enemies of Hyrule. Aggressive beasts such as Moblins, Lizalfos and Dinolfos, living weapons such as Iron Knuckles - and a large quantity of men and women with reasons to dislike Hyrule. Criminals, dissidents, and those who hate everything our culture stands for - there are hundreds of them, and they are heading in our direction."

Ringing silence met this announcement. Zelda, on Eldir's other side, let out a defeated sigh. "And we have no idea what they want?" she murmured, glancing up at her brother unhappily. "Can't we bargain with them?"

Eldir shook his head. "We could not... extract that information from our informant," he said awkwardly, "Although we do know they have plans to march on the castle - we have granted them a blow, but they'll be quick to reform. And we are running out of time."

"Then we should stop them while we still can," Link finally spoke up, and several heads swiveled to stare at him. "While they're still recovering." And no, he didn't like the idea at all - he had no desire to get involved in another war, no desire to see one army slaughter another. But if the option was Hyrule falling... then they had to do something. Protect Zelda, protect the citizens who were at no fault at all - anything was better than simply sitting down and ignoring the threat until they attacked again.

"Link," Eldir told him, discomforted, "We don't have an army. We have the castle guards, the Sheikah, and an auxiliary guard, but we can't take on an army unless we introduce conscription."

Oh. That certainly complicated things. Link sighed - it was rather counterproductive to protecting the people of Hyrule if they themselves had to fight.

Around the table, the assembled generals and strategists began their debate, suggesting this and that. Perhaps they could introduce a reward for anyone who volunteered to join the army (impractical, Eldir said, the treasury just wasn't that full), perhaps they could ask their neighbours to lend them a hand (dangerous, Zelda frowned, what if they suffered losses, it could be diplomatically worrying), perhaps they could find a powerful magic-user to end the battles themselves (but where, one of the generals pointed out, would they even find one)...

"What about asking others in Hyrule for help?" Link suggested halfheartedly, raising a hand to add to the discussion. "The Gorons and the Zoras and the Gerudo..."

"Not an option," Eldir said immediately, "They wouldn't help us."

The argument resumed.

Finally, Eldir stopped them and spoke again, looking resigned. "We do know of two small encampments," he said heavily, "One in the desert beyond Gerudo Canyon, the other buried deep in the Eastern Woods. There is a chance that a small party could make their way in and take care of the forces there - sabotage them so that we have more time to prepare to take them on. I will be leading one party myself."

And then he turned directly to face Link. "I know I distrusted you upon your arrival," he said steadily, "But in the time you have been here, you have proven yourself to be a warrior capable of the stories you told. Will you lead the other party?"

For a moment, Link sat there, stunned. Then, slowly, he nodded, ignoring the way that Sheik's hand tightened on his. "I can lead the one in the woods," he said almost in resignation. "I know the area really well - it's really easy to get lost if you don't know it."

Sheik made a quiet sound of distress, then sighed and slipped his hand away. Link turned to glance at him curiously - and that was when Eldir continued, "Then it's confirmed - in one week, I will lead the raid on the desert encampment, along with Sheik and a dozen men, and Link will lead the raid on the forest encampment, with a dozen men of his own."

And that was when Link realised why Sheik looked so pained.

The worst part was, he couldn't even retract his words. Of course Sheik would have to go with Eldir - he was the king's sworn guard. He couldn't go with Link no matter what either of them wanted.

Zelda, who had been watching the exchange in some consternation ever since Link had volunteered, suddenly dropped her hand against the table with an audible bang. "I'm going with Link," she announced, not giving anyone room to protest it, and gestured to her own Sheikah protector. "Along with Sheik."

Eldir glared at her. "Out of the question! This is a state of war, it is _not_ any place for a princess!"

"I can fight, Eldir, you _know_ that. I can almost beat you, and you have formal training!"

"And, most likely, so will these men," he told her bluntly, "You're too short, too thin, and, well, I doubt Link would want to babysit you while he's attempting to stop an invasion, and -"

"I don't mind her coming along," he said quietly, and Eldir stopped short. "We can spend the next week training - I'd appreciate it. And she'd have her guard."

Again, Eldir hesitated. After what felt like an eternity, though, he nodded in resignation. "You will be responsible for training her," he said, voice terse and brittle, like he was actively struggling to keep any emotion out of it. "And you and her guard will be responsible for ensuring she remains safe."

(From his other side, Zelda muttered in irritation, "I'm still here, you know.")

"And if she dies," Eldir continued coolly, "Then I will personally ensure you're held accountable."

There was another, very long, very tense, silence. And then he snapped, "Dismissed!" and rose from the table, stalking out of the war room.

Link was slower to move, shuffling out, not looking at anything. Thanks to his own hasty actions, he and Sheik were to be split up, and he was to be responsible for Zelda, and...

"You idiot," he told himself, slumping back against the wall as he left the room. "Idiot."

There was a light punch at his uninjured arm, and then Sheik dropped his head to Link's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. "We'll work it out."

Link smiled back almost sadly. They would... he hoped.

 

 

The training wasn't going too badly, Link decided a few days later as he had to duck to avoid a swipe.

Zelda, true to her word, had proven to be a rather capable fighter. Oh, she wasn't quite one of the elite, she lacked the raw upper body power to truly be dangerous, but she was fast and accurate, sure handed with a sword, and, if her skill at the archery range was any indication, positively lethal with the bow.

"Good!" he called as he parried, making a nimble jump to one side to another blow, "If you can get in to a position like that again, you can use your opponent's momentum against them - like this!" And he abruptly spun back, throwing Zelda (already swinging at him) off balance.

Zelda stumbled, then stopped herself and grimaced. "Won't that leave me open?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, a bit, so make sure you have your shield ready to block your vulnerable side."

She nodded again, a sigh escaping her lips. "There's so much to remember..."

Lowering his sword, Link gave her a reassuring smile. "You're doing pretty well, though. Do you want to take a break?"

"Please!"

Both Hylians set off through the grass, flopping down somewhere near Zelda's Sheikah guard. Link settled back with a sigh, arms folded behind his head as he gazed up at the sky.

Only four more days until he and Sheik would be separated... and even now, they couldn't spend every moment together. He still had his duties to Eldir, was supposed to be at his side even more than he already was. No wonder their sort of relationship, between a Sheikah of the castle guard and a Hylian, was frowned upon - they spent so much time apart.

...Speaking of Sheikah, though. Pushing himself up again, he turned to give Zelda's guard a curious look. Maybe...

She gave him a look back, propping her chin up in one hand. "Do I have something on my face?"

He quirked a smile, then shook his head. "Actually," he started slowly, "I was wondering - do you have a nickname or anything? It just... feels sort of strange calling you 'Sheik'."

Much to his surprise, she laughed out loud. "Don't want to be reminded of glorious nights of passion around me, huh?" she teased, and Link felt himself flushing. How was it that practically everyone knew about him and Sheik? They had only been involved for three weeks!

"Well, it's just - it's kind of strange, and - I knew him as Sheik first - and, uh," he muttered, finding himself suddenly cut off when the girl reached across and pressed her fingers across his lips.

"You're strange," she told him, still looking amused. "You can call me 'Ziya, I guess - it's short for my real name. That's Naziya."

Link grinned a little, then shook her fingers off and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you properly, 'Ziya."

She glanced down at the offered hand, then shook back enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you too," she laughed, "Never mind that we've been talking for nearly two months now."

Well. There was that.

Fighting abandoned for now, the three settled in to conversation - nothing too heavy, keeping things light and casual. He knew why, too - this way, he could avoid having to think about what was to soon occur, what was only days away.

Happily, he was broken from his reverie by the approach of someone familiar - sitting up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash, a grin spread across his face. "Sa-- Sheik!" he called, gesturing for him to join them - with a faint smile beneath the mask, he did so, settling next to Link.

"Taking some time from training?" he queried, dropping his hand somewhat casually, but close enough that his fingers could brush Link's.

Regretfully, Zelda noticed the gesture, grinning and nudging her guard. "Look, 'Ziya, they're being shy," she grinned, and the Sheikah girl laughed.

The next words Naziya said were in Sheikah, but clearly, it was something mildly rude, if the colour Sheik turned was any indication. "What did she say?" Link asked him quietly.

Sheik spluttered for another moment, then murmured back, still scarlet, "She told me to sit in your lap."

"Oh," Link replied softly, then considered for a moment - and twisted around, lifted the Sheikah bodily, and dragged him in to his lap. Sheik actually squeaked (and Zelda outright squealed), struggling for a moment before sighing in resignation.

"Whatever do you three have against my dignity?" he muttered, slumping back against Link's chest.

Link gave him a consolation kiss on the back of the head, shifting so that his boot wasn't digging in to Sheik's thigh. "Nothing," he said soothingly, paused, then added, "But you are cute when you get flustered. Ow."

His lover, it seemed, pinched hard.

"You two are so weird together," Zelda said in amusement.

Sheik made a non-committal sound, then clambered out of Link's lap, offering Zelda a hand. "Here - why don't you show me what you've got?" he offered. "I'm sure a clunky Hylian is no problem for you -"

"Hey!"

"- But how will you go against a Sheikah?"

Zelda grinned and collected her sword and shield again. "Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeves!"

And it was on again, Link fairly content to sit back and watch. Zelda was definitely improving, he mused - and, he decided, eyes glued to the grace and power in Sheik's flowing movements, watching Sheik was definitely a bonus he could live with.

 

 

It was the early hours of the morning, and Link was watching another sunrise.

This one, though - this had a tinge of melancholy to it that he couldn't quite shake. Settled on the soft, backless lounge in front of the window, the faintest hint of sunlight was rising on Hyrule - Link could have sworn that if the light had been a little greater, he could have seen all the way to the forest he was destined to march to later that morning.

Without the man lying in his arms.

Gently, Sheik twisted around to lie more properly on top of him. "Rupee for your thoughts?" he murmured, giving Link a gentle nuzzle.

Link sighed, reaching up to run a hand through Sheik's unruly hair. "I'm thinking I'm going to beg Eldir for some time off for you after this," he murmured. "And anyway, if we win, we both deserve a holiday, huh?"

Sheik was silent for a moment, then nodded against Link's shoulder. With, he couldn't help but notice, some resignation. "If we win," he echoed hollowly, then leaned in for a kiss that took Link's breath away.

"Sahil," he murmured, voice cracking a little in his surprise and confusion, "I don't -"

And Sheik kissed him again, shifting so he was straddling his hips, hands cupping his face. "Please, Link," he said softly, running nimble tanned fingers through Link's hair. "This - this is important."

He honestly had no idea what was going on, what was so important, what was causing that mix of resignation and sadness on Sheik's face. But if this was what his lover wanted, then this would be what he had - Link nodded slowly, drawing him in for a lingering kiss.

"Okay," he murmured, eyes closed as he stroked a hand through his hair, "Okay."

"Thank you," Sheik whispered, nuzzling Link's jawline gently, nipping at his ear. Link made a rather pleased sound, and the hand buried in his hair slid down, tracing the line of his spine, marveling at the smoothness of his skin over the contour of firm muscle.

If Sheik wanted closeness, then he'd have closeness. Link ran his hands over Sheik's back, arms, shoulders, legs, growing needy for touch as well - but Sheik was reciprocating in kind, a near desperation to his movements... almost like he knew that this parting would be for longer than he had ever anticipated.

"Need you," Sheik murmured, shifting his hips against Link's - abruptly, Link's mouth went dry.

"Oil?" he tried to say, the word dropping from his lips inelegantly. Better to get it now, before things reached the point of no return - Sheik merely leaned down to retrieve a bottle from beneath the lounge, setting it at the table close at hand and settling back on Link's thighs. "Okay. I didn't want to interrupt anything later..."

Sheik kissed him again, almost more fiercely this time. "I know," he said softly, and his hand drifted from Link's shoulder to rest on his abdomen.

Link exhaled unsteadily. His hand was so close to where heat was beginning to pool - if only he moved down those last few inches!

Still - he wasn't helpless, he was still able to make moves for himself. Shifting his legs to nudge Sheik closer and to bring him back in to contact, his breath caught as he reached down to touch them both - the Sheikah let out a moan and dropped his head to Link's shoulder.

This was almost more intimate than the bed had been. Like this, Link could settle back against the arm of the lounge, Sheik on top of him, close enough to kiss and touch and hold. And they didn't have to move much to further things on, either - reaching one-handed for the oil, Link clumsily coated his fingers, trailing his clean hand down Sheik's spine.

"Okay," Sheik whispered, stifling a whimper against Link's lips as Link prepared him. Link practically moaned himself - the sounds he made were an intoxicant, sending his thoughts scattering like fireflies and heat rippling through him - the only thing in his head was Sheik, Sheik and his beautiful red eyes, Sheik and his amazing body, Sheik and his stories and songs and his hands that played both lyre and Link expertly...

His companion through a war no one remembered, his friend and lover in a place he didn't belong. Sheik was his constant, the one that grounded him - the one he had always needed and suspected he always would.

A soft moan escaped those parted lips as Link prepared him, and then it was Link's turn to jump - Sheik had reached for the oil himself, anointing the Hylian with it, his movements gentle and precise. "Please," he said, very softly, and Link could no longer hold back.

Even as their bodies joined, even as Link felt his mind temporarily white out in pleasure, he could not look away from Sheik. The room was dark, but the rising sun sent golden highlights over the Sheikah's skin, highlighting delicate fingers clinging to Link's arm, the curve and line of muscles, making a brilliant halo of honeyed hair that curled around his throat as he threw his head back in pleasure.

"You're beautiful," he whispered hoarsely, and pulled him in close, feeling a whimper against his lips as the friction of the movement of their bodies and the change in pressure sent the Sheikah shuddering.

"And you... Link..." The sounds Sheik was making was better than any music Link could imagine, more passionate, more true. He could press his lips to his and steal them away, keep them preserved inside him - a record of what they did here, of how much Link wanted him and vice versa, about an utterly unlikely bond that they had discovered and would not relinquish.

He could not keep his hands away. Nothing in Hyrule, not in this time or his own or any other, could keep him from Sheik now, to stop the worship of his body, to prevent this closeness.

And now things were building to a peak, pleasure building in to a white haze - he could see the tiny clues he had learnt over the past several weeks that Sheik was reaching his too, could discern it by the way he parted his lips, the way his eyes squeezed shut and his brow creased, at the little shivers running through his body.

Link reached up, buried a hand in Sheik's hair, drew him close. Mouth a half-inch from Sheik's ear, he murmured, "Come for me" - and he did, a hoarse cry erupting from his throat as his body shook and trembled on Link's lap.

And then, that was all Link needed to join him over the edge as well.

He wasn't quite sure when they separated - his arms stayed around Sheik regardless, letting the Sheikah use him as an oversized pillow as they stretched out on the lounge. Dimly, Link registered that they'd have to wash before they left - but Sheik seemed utterly disinclined to leave, and Link was hardly keen on the idea himself.

Sheik leaned up to kiss him again - slower, more lingering - and settled back with his head on Link's chest, and Link realised to his mild horror that he could feel dampness - tears in the corners of his red eyes. "Don't cry," he whispered, voice cracking and unsteady, "It'll be okay, we'll see each other again..."

"...We will," Sheik murmured, but Link wasn't sure he liked the hesitation in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything," the Sheikah whispered, then lifted a finger to Link's lips. "We shouldn't speak of things like this," he continued on almost hesitantly - a far cry from his usually confident lover. "It's an ill omen..."

Slowly, Link nodded. He couldn't fix whatever was bothering Sheik, but he could distract him from it - carefully, he tilted his chin up for another kiss. "We still have time before we leave," he said simply, and wrapped his arms around Sheik's waist. "Let's spend it together."

Sheik nodded too, and dropped his head back to Link's chest. And Link ran his fingers through Sheik's hair, forced his worry in to a box to be examined later, and held him close.

There was no escape from the morning - but they could protect themselves from it with each other as much as they could.


	7. Carnival Of Light

All too soon, it was time to depart.

The two groups assembled at the stables, horses ready to depart - accompanying each group would be a horse master who would care for the mounts while the groups travelled on. They could hardly reach the forest without them, but horses, Link knew, were useless in the forest. (And quite frankly, he wouldn't put it past the Skull Kids to try to take them like the one he knew had taken Epona.)

Shifting in his new outfit (a tunic in green and a hat to match, an unfamiliar shirt of mail beneath it, customary white undershirt and leggings, gloves, an arm guard, shoulder guard, and shin guards in stiff leather), Link gazed ahead to where Eldir was delivering some hopefully inspiring speech. He didn't hear a word of it - instead, his gaze was fixed firmly on the Sheikah beside the king, watching and thinking. Sheik gave him a sad smile from behind the mask, unable to give any more of a gesture than that - too many eyes, too little privacy.

But now, it was time they were off. Amid the sudden confusion of movement, Link shoved his way forward, reaching out to drag Sheik in to one last embrace. "Good luck," the Sheikah murmured as he wrapped his arms around Link's waist, "Protect Zelda. Protect yourself. Come home safely." And then, whispered, so softly Link wasn't sure if he had heard it or just imagined it, "Don't forget me."

And then he was gone, whisked away by the crowd, leaving Link standing there to stare after him.

Silently, Zelda brushed the back of her hand against his. "Come on," she said softly, and Link finally tore his gaze away from where Sheik had vanished in to the crowd, nodding in mute shock.

He had lost sight of Sheik, but that didn't stop him looking until their party had thundered out of the gates and on to the horse road. Somewhere behind him was Sheik, and he was hurting, and Link didn't know how to fix it - as they rode on, he couldn't help but feel utterly helpless.

Silent throughout the ride, it wasn't until the forest approached that he called out his first order - for the scouts to find a slope that someone could climb unaided. Soon enough, Naziya called out - a minor landslide had caused rocks to slump to the grass below, and soon enough, the nimble Sheikah was scrambling up, rope wrapped around her waist. As she fastened it to a tree and gestured, the others began to join her.

"Thanks," Link murmured to the horse master, collecting the last of his equipment and strapping the pack on to his back, glad for once that the people here wore their swords on their hips. Then, watching critically as Zelda made her way up, he followed after her, dragging the rope up along with him.

It was strange, he mused, how the forest could feel exactly the same, four hundred years in the past and eight long years later.

Taking a deep breath of green-scented air, he turned to brief his team. "We're in the forest now," he told them grimly, "And we're somewhere that's pretty dangerous and weird if you don't know what you're doing. As we get deeper, you'll start seeing fairies. We may see some of the Kokiri - they're little kids, dressed in green, and they are _not a danger_."

He most assuredly wasn't having anyone striking at a Kokiri. "They know nothing of the outside world, and their guardian is a tree. Oh, and don't damage the trees, actually - the Deku trees are sentient, and some of the creatures here get mad if you hurt the others. If you see a plant-looking thing that spits rocks or nuts at you, just deflect them back - they're scared of outsiders, but they're not really malicious until we get much further in."

The Sacred Meadow... briefly, he wondered whether it'd be Scrubs or Moblins they'd meet there.

"As we get further in," he continued, voice dropping, "We'll reach the Lost Woods. When we do, we'll use the rope to stay connected. Do _not_ wander off, or you'll never get out alive. Any questions?"

"Yeah," one suggested, "When do we eat?"

Link laughed along with the others, feeling the minor tension break. He had to admit, it had been a long ride. "Once we reach the ridge," he told them, gesturing to where the land started to slope up, "We should get a good view of our path. Ready?"

"Ready!" they chorused, and when Link turned to start the hike up to the ridge he had once lingered at to get away from the village, he was mildly gratified to hear them following after him. Following close behind him were Zelda and Naziya - while the Sheikah still wore her usual combat uniform, Zelda was nearly unrecognisable as the Princess of the land - between the leather breastplate and armour, the practical boots, pants, and tunic, the neat braid, and the sword sheathed at her belt, she didn't look particularly regal.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, she glanced across at Link. "You're doing a pretty good job," she mused, keeping pace with trained soldiers easily, "I didn't really think you'd be this good of a leader."

Link glanced back to give her a sheepish smile. "Don't count your cuccos before they hatch and kill everything in sight," he muttered, "We haven't even got up to combat or strategy. I'm mostly just showing people around at the moment."

"A tour guide," Naziya suggested with a faint smile, "Where shall we see all the attractions, oh guide?"

Raising his eyebrows at her, he mentioned, "Well, there's a lot of trees. There's the Great Deku Tree - he's really big." A self-conscious pause, then, "Well, he is in my time. He might not be that big now. There's a meadow near the Forest Temple that's quite nice. And there's a maze thing with rolling boulders. Getting squished is a great attraction!"

Both girls laughed outright, Zelda's smile sunny. "I'll be sure to get a souvenir from there," she teased.

Link grinned back, then caught a familiar sight and turned back. He knew that old tree, didn't he? Which meant... "Ridge just ahead!" he called, the gap in the trees already visible. "Straight on ahead. Please be quiet when we get near, sound carries really far over the valley."

Picking up the pace himself, he headed closer - and then simply stopped, gazing out over the valley, something indescribable heavy in his chest. The clearing where the village once was - gone, a canopy shading it, the glint of the stream only just visible. Nearby, he could see the massive Deku Tree, larger than anything else in the valley - he simply stopped and watched.

What would the Great Deku Tree think, if he saw him now? Would he recognise him as one he'd one day take under his boughs? Or would he simply be a stranger - and worse, an outsider, one who had bought men with weapons in to his forest?

Swallowing, he turned back to the men, instructing them to collect fallen, dead branches only for the campfire. As they prepared the midday meal, Link was quiet, back turned to the valley, not wanting the reminder that his childhood home had yet to exist.

But then, without that to hold on to - what was to stop him from worrying about Sheik? They would have reached the gorge, by now...

By the time the meal ended, he was more than ready to leave. "The path down to the valley isn't too bad," he told them as he pointed it out - indeed, a winding path was barely visible against the cliff. "From there, we head straight across and start to climb again. There'll be some parts where we'll need the ropes, though." Turning to Naziya, he confirmed, "That's alright with you, right?"

"All good," she murmured, and Link nodded.

"Right. And..." He hesitated. "Watch where you step, okay? The valley's kind of... special."

At the back of the crowd, a few of the men snickered - Link leveled a stare in their direction, then turned on his heel and started down the cliffside.

Down to where the Kokiri Forest once stood.

 

 

"I see giants!"

"Don't be silly, there's no such thing as giants."

"They're so big..."

"That one has eyes like tree bark!"

"That one has eyes like sunsets!"

"Look at their funny clothes. What are they made of?"

There was no doubt about it. In this time, the Kokiri were alive and well.

The men had slowed now, glancing around warily. Link, too, was moving quietly, Zelda silent beside him, Naziya watchful on her other side.

"I don't like this," the Sheikah murmured, hand on her hip - Link couldn't see them, but he knew she carried concealed weapons there, knives, throwing needles, other things designed to maim and destroy.

Link gave her a warning glance. "They're only kids. They're just really curious," he whispered back, then came to a stop. "Um, hi. We don't mean any harm - we just need to go across the valley."

There was a flash of movement on all sides, and suddenly the forest was still again. Link didn't move a muscle, waiting for - what? He didn't know.

Ah. Waiting for, apparently, the boy who suddenly dropped out of the tree in front of him.

A Kokiri, that much was for sure - but apparently, a fair bit had changed in four hundred years. This boy almost looked part plant, skin faintly greenish, the clothing he wore not so much manufactured as growing out of his skin, rustling like leaves on a tree.

"This is our forest," he told Link, freckled nose upturned. "You're not allowed to walk here."

It was Zelda who knelt beside the Kokiri boy, blue eyes fixed on his face. "But we need to," she said gently, "Otherwise, lots of things may be in danger, including the forest. It's very important..."

A faint, thoughtful frown crossed Link's face as they spoke - now that he could look around, he could see the beginnings of a village taking place. Up in the branches of tall trees would be carefully balanced platforms, or the rotten interiors of hollowed-out trees would be blocked off with crude barriers made of woven twigs and leaves. And, here and there, he began to locate the elusive Kokiri themselves - spotting one up a tree, he smiled and offered a little wave, getting one back in return.

He glanced back at the two redheads - and then he stopped. Certainly, from Zelda, he expected it. But a mop of red hair over a turned-up, pointed nose, haughty and bossy even now...

 _Mido_.

Link's throat was tight as he watched the two converse. He knew that the Kokiri were older than they looked, of course, but here was undeniable proof - his childhood tormentor, hundreds of years earlier, somehow almost younger-acting than he was then.

"...I'll take you to the Great Deku Tree," the Kokiri finally decided, " _He'll_ know what to do with you losers!" And he turned to march off back in to the trees, Zelda scrambling to her feet as Link hurried after him (he knew first-hand how easily Kokiri could slip away, he had seen it more times than he could count when he had been young).

Now that he was walking through it again, more and more familiar features were emerging. Here, he could see the stream bubbling in to its pool, there, he could see the bowed branches that formed a makeshift tunnel leading straight to the grand old master of the forest.

Swallowing roughly, Link carefully followed after Mido, Zelda and Naziya close behind, the rest of the men following. Giggles and whispers came from every direction - the Kokiri might have been avoiding being seen, but their presence was certainly all around them.

Link could not deny he was nervous. What would the Great Deku Tree think of him?

The clearing was familiar. The Great Deku Tree, his steadfast protector all through his childhood, was barely changed by time - only the fallen leaves, fast turning brown, showed that winter was close at hand.

"Who have ye brought to me, Mido of the forest children?" the Great Deku Tree asked in a voice like the rustling of leaves, of ancient wood and long years. Link felt his mouth grow dry - when he had last heard that voice, it had been saying goodbye.

In four hundred years, he'd see the Great Deku Tree die.

Mido stepped forward importantly, puffing out his chest. "Outsiders, Great Deku Tree!" he called, then pointed back at them. "That girl says she's some sort of ruler from Outside, and they have to go and beat some baddies that are in the forest or they'll hurt all of us."

The Great Deku Tree made a thoughtful sound. "Is this true, Princess of the Hylia People?"

Beside Link, Zelda looked startled. "How did you -?" she started, then set her shoulders and stepped forward. "It's true, Great Deku Tree," she told him, admirably straight-faced in talking to a tree. "We've received word that there's an army preparing to attack Hyrule, and we've learnt that one of their bases is in the woods. We intend to go and try and stop them before they can attack us and cause countless thousands of deaths." Glancing across at Link, she gave him a pleading look.

He gave her a reassuring smile back, then turned back to the great old tree himself. "Great Deku Tree," he added, hesitating only a little, "I will give you my sworn word that no harm will come to the forest at our hands. We won't hurt a tree or a bird or anything that belongs to the forest."

It was strange, Link mused, how old, warped wood could give the impression of the Great Deku Tree gazing straight through him.

"I trust thou well, Child of Farore." Now, it was Link's turn to start. "Lead thy men for the preservation of life, and tread lightly beneath the trees. Mido of the forest children - thou may grant the Outsiders passage through the forest. Allow them food and water and rest, and lead them on their journey."

Link bowed his head. It seemed, then, that he had approval.

A familiar sigh came from somewhere nearby - Mido, looking mildly displeased. "Yes, Great Deku Tree," he muttered, then turned back to Zelda. "Well, let's go. Do you want to eat or rest or something first?"

Zelda glanced back at the assembled men, shifting awkwardly behind her. "A short rest might be nice," she admitted, and Mido nodded.

"Well, if I _must_ ," he told her, then stood and beckoned for them to follow, marching back off beneath the trees.

The group stood, shifted, then hastily followed - not one was willing to be left behind in this place, Link mused. It was still foreign to them, impossibly so.

But to him, it was almost like being home.

 

 

And true to the Great Deku Tree's word, by the time they returned to what Link was learning was the village, the other Kokiri were out to see them. A few familiar faces here and there, he could identify - was that the girl who spent half her life up a tree? Was he that boy who collected feathers all the time? Perhaps that head of blonde hair belonged to the girl that helped out at the shop.

They were changed, though. So much closer to their plant-like origins - idly, he wondered what had happened to change things so much.

They had settled down near the stream, where the shop would one day sit (now, it was barely a sapling), and rested and ate and drank their fill. Link, gazing up at the sky through the leaves and wondering if Sheik was watching the same sky as well, was suddenly snapped out of his reverie by a shout, excited whispers rippling through the forest.

"Another one!"

"A new one!"

Frowning, he stood up, catching Mido's arm when he ran by. "What's going on?" he asked curiously.

The boy shook him off, giving him an impudent stare. "There's a new one. Do you want to see?"

A new what? Link frowned faintly, then nodded. "Okay."

And off they went - back in the direction of the Great Deku Tree, leaving Zelda, Naziya, and the rather confused men behind. But the tree wasn't their destination - instead, it was a tiny grove he had never seen before nearby, close enough that leaves drifted by and settled on the pale green pods growing on long vines. Above them, fairies swirled, casting flickering light over the pods.

Nearby, one of them was beginning to split open.

Link's breath caught as he approached slowly. This was something he had never seen before - within the depths of the pod, he could see a pale greenish arm, the leafy substances that made up their clothes already in place. One of the Kokiri girls, a necklace of white feathers and seeds and nuts around her neck, took a step forward - with a glance around, she murmured, "The Great Deku Tree offers you the gift of life," then reached out and peeled the rest of the pod back.

Inside was a girl, tucked in to a ball, completely motionless. And then a little pink fairy drifted down and settled on her shoulder, and she took a first breath.

When she lifted her head, the bright blue eyes beneath the mop of green hair caught Link's gaze, and a tiny smile spread across Saria's face.

Completely unbidden, one crossed Link's in return. "Hello," he murmured, and the girl tilted her head.

"Hello," she repeated, her infliction exactly the same, and Link wondered briefly about paradoxes. Perhaps this girl would learn to speak based on the way he did - but then, if he had learnt his speech off Saria, who had learnt it first?

Mido, watching the little scene, suddenly cleared his throat, stepping in front of the girl to pull her to her feet. "Welcome to Kokiri Forest," he told her importantly, "I'm Mido. We'll take you to the Great Deku Tree to be named, okay?"

The little girl watched him, then nodded, clambering to her feet. She was barely unstable, her own bare feet as sturdy as tree roots, and Link found himself smiling as he watched her.

As Mido and the girl with the white feather necklace led her off, Link sighed softly. So he had seen the birth of his oldest friend - idly, he wondered what the Kokiri had thought of him as an infant, not the half-grown girl he had seen emerge from a pod.

He was thoughtful as he returned to the camp, settling down next to Zelda as he briefly explained what had happened. But it was time to move on - giving the order to start packing up, he started getting his things together, making idle conversation with Zelda and Naziya as they worked.

They were nearly ready to leave when Mido returned, Saria and the girl with the white feather necklace close behind. Stopping before Link, the little girl gazed up at him, a curious expression on her face.

"I am called Saria," she told him, voice childish and stumbling. "What are you called?"

He smiled, dropping to one knee. "I'm called Link," he told her gently, glad that Mido wasn't paying attention for now. "I think you'll like it here, Saria."

And then Mido clicked his tongue and tugged at Link's chain mail sleeve. "Hey. We're going!"

Nodding, he waved to Saria then gestured to the men, Zelda, and Naziya, following Mido as he disappeared in to the trees again. Behind them, Kokiri and fairies watched them depart, giggles, whispers, and tinkling fairy noises the soundtrack to their march in to the Lost Woods.

At the end of the path was an army. He wondered what would happen next.

 

 

As it had turned out, very little.

Oh, there had been a base, alright. Buried deep in the Lost Woods, settled in the clearing before the forest grove that Saria would one day spend so much time in, a few tents sat scattered around. Settled around a bonfire, a few rough-looking men conversed and ate and gave withering looks at the half-dozen Moblins snoring near the cliff face. (Link didn't blame them - the stink wafting off them was making most of their group look distinctly green in the face.)

But an entire army? Hardly.

Mido had spotted them, paled, and ran off again, leaving them quite alone - once Link had stopped cursing him in his head, they had quickly made plans.

And then there was nothing left to do but enact it.

The battle was almost embarrassingly one-sided - caught off-guard, the men were easy to immobilise, while Link took care of the sluggish Moblins with very little problem at all. As he disposed of the last one, a voice called out to him - one of his soldiers, busily interrogating one of the men. Zelda and Naziya were already there, frowning.

"They want the Legendary Triforce. They want the Royal Family dead. And... tell them what you told me," the soldier said calmly, and the the man screwed up his face, turned, and spat in Zelda's face.

Making an outraged sound of disgust, Zelda had to suddenly step aside, Naziya thrusting one of her knives at the man's throat and stopping a fraction of an inch from his skin. "How dare you?" she snarled, "I should cut your throat right now!"

Link set a hand on her wrist, and she gave him a withering look before retracting the blade. The man breathed a sigh of relief - then choked again as Link grabbed his collar and dragged him near.

"I," he nearly growled, "Have had a bad day. I've had to say goodbye to my lover, march across the forest, and put up with you spitting in my friend's face. I suggest you tell me, or you're not going to be doing anything else again."

And then he almost loosened his grip when he realised what he was saying - had saying goodbye to Sheik really made his rage rise to the surface so much?

"Haaa," the man laughed, half-sounding like he was choking. "You wasted your time. We're the outpost. But we got a real army in the desert and there's _thousands_."

Link let go with a start.

They had wasted their time here, then. And that meant that the other group - meant that _Sheik_ \- wasn't walking in to a minor encampment, one that could be taken care of by fourteen capable men.

They were walking in to the middle of a war zone.


	8. All Things Must Pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Character death.

He hadn't wasted a second of time.

The man had barely finished his sentence before Link had turned on his heel and bolted, sprinting towards the tree line. Slowing only to shout, "Lead them back to the field when they're done!" to the still-cowering Mido, he moved in a blur of motion.

"Link, wait!" came an urgent shout, and he slowed just enough for Naziya, dragging an out-of-breath Zelda behind her, to catch up with him. "We'll go with you," the princess gasped, Link nodding grimly.

And then he stopped short, the girls overshooting him for a moment before coming to a stop as well. "I have an idea," he told them grimly, "But I don't want to leave you two behind if it doesn't work. As soon as we get back to the valley, I'll get us to Castle Town."

"How?" Naziya frowned as they hurried on, although not quite at the dead sprint they were in before, and Link merely patted the pouch at his belt.

The village emerged more quickly than he would have expected, helping Zelda back down the valley wall. Catching the attention of one of the Kokiri, he gave them a quick instruction - that if the girls stayed here, to look after them until Mido and the soldiers returned.

And then he drew out the Ocarina.

"I don't know if this will work," he said thickly, "But it's worth a try. It'll take us to the Temple of Time, and it's a lot easier to get to the valley from there." Easier still to get there from the lake, but it'd still be hard on foot - at least in Castle Town, they could take horses.

"This better work," Zelda breathed, then set her shoulders. "What do we have to do?"

Link gave them both a grim look, and positioned his fingers on the ocarina. "Hold on tight."

Immediately, both girls did. And Link closed his eyes and raised the ocarina to his lips, playing the six simple notes that made up the Prelude of Light.

Much to his gratification, the Temple of Time swirled in to view, thankfully empty (and far enough from the Master Sword that the peculiarities of earlier never took place). Glancing between the two, he gave them a nod and started out the door without a second glance, the two close behind.

Five minutes later, they had arranged to borrow two horses - Link scrambled atop as Naziya helped Zelda on to the one they'd share, and minutes after that, they were thundering out the gate in the direction of the valley.

And that was when they saw the procession weaving its way back.

Something in Link's blood ran cold. Thirteen men had set out - only nine rode back now, the horse master leading the other four horses as well as the cart intended for supplies.

And in the cart...

He was only dimly aware of riding as hard as he could towards them. He only vaguely recalled practically jumping off his still-galloping horse, not caring at the pain that shot up his legs as he stumbled forward, ignoring Eldir's startled cry. He didn't even see as Zelda and Naziya drew up sharply, scrambling down as Eldir brought the group to a standstill.

All he knew that of the nine men still riding, Sheik wasn't amongst them.

"Show him to me," he whispered, the words falling from his lips like stones. Behind him, Eldir nodded once, guiding him up to the cart.

Four bundles. Four human-shaped bundles wrapped in white cloth, stained cloaks and blankets. Silently, Eldir led him to the smallest bundle and drew back the cloth.

Link felt his world end, in that moment.

Beneath the cloth, Sheik's face was unnaturally pale, eyes closed, lips parted slightly. They were red, Link noted dimly, flecks of blood on the insides, mask vanished somewhere. He could have been sleeping, working off some illness, perhaps - tired, but soon to wake up - Link touched his fingertips to his cheek, realised how cool his skin was, and drew his hand back like he had been stung.

"...I will let you ride with him," Eldir said, his voice sounding like it was coming from a long way away. Link wasn't even sure he acknowledged it - his entire world was Sheik, lying pale and cold at his feet, and the setting sun that tinged everything the colour of blood.

Just that morning, the same sun had risen on their coupling. And now...

Now...

It must have been raining, he realised, a droplet of moisture landing on Sheik's pale cheek. Link brushed it away absently before he ever realised that it wasn't rain.

He wasn't quite sure when he had moved, when the wagon had started moving again. Sheik's head was in his lap, thin, cool hand in Link's, his gaze not leaving Sheik's face even when his vision swam and blurred. Once, he caught a snatch of the sound of Zelda's own tears, but he couldn't have gone to comfort her if he had tried.

The rest of the world was irrelevant, non-existent. Sheik was dead, and now life no longer held any meaning for him.

They stopped in front of Castle Town, and the other three bundles were unloaded, the rest of the men splitting off. And then it was just six of them - Zelda and Naziya on their borrowed horse, Eldir on his, the horse master, Link, and Sheik.

The next that Link was aware of was Zelda kneeling at his side, a gentle hand on his arm. She, too, was a tearful mess, her eyes red and puffy. "We're here," she told him, voice breaking a little, "Eldir said that - that you should... carry him."

Dimly, Link nodded, letting go of the cool hand and letting it rest on Sheik's chest. His gaze lingered for a moment on the bloodied slash in his clothing, then he sucked in a breath and covered him up again, gathering the bundle in to his arms. He just needed to keep moving - he wouldn't think, he wouldn't remember, he would move on autopilot and never have to know that it was his dead lover he carried in his arms now.

They emerged in to Kakariko Village, and the memories were everywhere. There was the well, the first time Link had felt terror rise in his throat when he had thought Sheik had been badly hurt. There was where the tent where they had shared their first kiss had been, and there was his house, where they had first been intimate - oh, Thrice, someone would have to tell his parents. Someone would have to tell Kula.

And now, there was the Shadow Temple, Sheik's final destination.

He hadn't wanted to let go, hadn't wanted to let them rip Sheik out of his arms. Stepping back in numb horror when they had, he could barely watch as they stripped him of his bindings and of his clothes, a heavy, blood-red cloth draped over his body up to his shoulders.

"Wait," Zelda had said suddenly, her voice thick. "Wait, please - we - Link and I - want to say goodbye."

There was a dim murmur of assent, and the assembled Sheikah (and Eldir, giving them a worried backwards glance) filed out.

Link barely looked as Zelda said her goodbyes - at the edge of hearing, he could hear more tears, apologies, memories. Finally, though, she fell silent, rising to leave.

"Take as long as you need," she murmured, brushing his arm with her fingers, eyes red-rimmed. He nodded - then took a deep breath and slowly approached.

"I found out what a nocturne is," he said suddenly, voice unsteady. "You taught me that so I could come here, did you know that? It means a song for the night - and - and without you, there's no day."

And he slumped down against the platform Sheik rested on, raised the ocarina to his lips, and began to play.

Worried red eyes, tousled gold hair hanging over him as he awoke, every muscle aching. Sudden relief hastily covered up with professional distance, even as the rain washed away mud and blood. And the nocturne, caught in the evening air, mournful notes that linked them together.

A sudden prickling feeling of being watched, and spinning around, sword in hand. But instead, no enemy, simply a young man who'd one day become a friend.

A familiar face when his heart ached from the loss of his oldest friend, soft, comforting words, and a song almost like a dance. Perhaps one day they could dance as well.

The Temple again, and a path back to his childhood. Now, it ached when the inevitable flash of light removed him from his sight.

Sweltering heat, and fire beneath his feet that would consume him should he loose his footing. But that was nothing compared to the warmth that filled him when he saw a familiar pair of red eyes, nothing compared to how he'd consume Link's every waking thought.

Freezing cold, but he could warm him up better than hot soup or sunny days.

Desert sands, howling around them as they played a song for the dead, but in their hands, Link could almost love it. This time, he had made a move first - but still, he had slipped through his fingers like sand.

The Temple of Time, and a final parting, and the grief on Zelda's face - she, too, had lost a friend.

An adolescence spent jumping at shadows, at every glimpse of golden hair and red eyes in hope that he had returned. He hadn't understood, then, hadn't realised what he had lost, what he was still to lose. How could he even imagine what they had shared in the past months?

Zelda again, and being torn back through time, and a familiar pair of red eyes to bring him home.

The sheer, gut-clenching terror he had felt when he had found him - battered, poisoned, and injured. And the overwhelming wash of relief once he had learnt that he'd be okay. The joy of gaining friendship, of gaining trust, of gaining _him_.

Music like a heartbeat, and chapped lips on his, and the joyful exploration of each other's bodies. And then that night - Sheik beneath him, gazing up with trust and love and need, and the sun rising on a new shared life.

And then another sunrise - had he suspected? Had he known? Had that been the cause of the tears in his eyes?

The sound of the ocarina cut off with a strangled noise, and Link climbed to his feet, settling on the edge of the platform itself. "You bastard," he whispered, then dropped his head to Sheik's chest and started to cry in earnest.

It took him a very long time for him to be able to stop. Finally, though, he managed to sit up, feeling like he had been torn apart and put back together with something missing. Hollowly, he reached for one hand and told him, "I would have stayed here forever with you," voice small and quiet and lost.

The century didn't matter. Forget that he was a stranger in time. Home was where ever Sheik was.

Closing his eyes, he leaned in, pressing his lips against Sheik's cold ones. And then he sat up, whispered, "Bye," and walked out, head bowed.

Zelda's hand slipped in to his own. He was glad she was there - because he wasn't entirely sure he could do this on his own.

"They'll prepare his body," she told him softly, voice unsteady. "And then they'll say rites and prayers, and then he'll be cremated. And then..."

She trailed off and shook her head, falling silent.

"Where's your brother?" he asked slowly, realising that he was absent, and Zelda lifted her head, gazing back at the village.

"Telling his parents."

Link nodded slowly, not envying the king. And even worse than telling the parents - how could they tell Sheik's twin, his other half?

It was a silent, solemn Eldir who eventually returned, flanked by Miruna and Kalen. Link found himself gazing at them - Miruna, white-faced and steely-eyed, grief overwritten in shock, and Kalen, lost to his mourning.

Miruna gazed back at him as they passed, following Eldir in to the temple again. And then she lowered her head, and the moment was lost.

For all that Sheik's life had meant, the ceremony was almost embarrassingly short. Now, he was covered entirely in the blood-red cloth, candles set at his head and his feet, a thick, suffocating incense burning. Link didn't understand one word of the Sheikah words said - instead, he gazed blankly at the red cloth, unable to find a way to associate its formless shape with the man he had kissed and touched and held only that morning.

By the time they lifted the candles to light the fabric, he could no longer stand it. He turned, stumbling out of the temple on legs that felt like lead, at the limit of how much he could watch.

How could they just burn him? He had been alive that morning! How could he be dead, now?

How could he leave him like that?

Slumping against one of the pillars outlining the entrance to the temple, he drew his knees up, arms folded around them. This morning, the sun had touched them - now, fire burnt him away, consuming him until there was nothing left. Inside his head, his swirling thoughts threatened to become a tornado - the beginnings of a scream were building in his throat.

And then he twisted around and slammed his fist as hard as he could in to the ground.

The next he was aware of, Zelda's small hands were around his, brushing away dirt and soothing the hurt from the bruises away. "It's done," she told him, voice small, then took a breath and added, "Eldir has something for you."

And then the king was there, too - Link gazed at him sightlessly, and Eldir glanced away. "Link, this was found amongst his personal belongings," he told him quietly, holding out a sealed envelope, Link's name in tidy cursive on the front. "I will give you time - but I must return to the castle." He sighed heavily. "And then I must ride on to my uncle's castle... Sheik's brother must be informed."

Link nodded slowly, barely hearing him - instead, he gazed down at the envelope. Sheik had prepared a letter for him?

"He saved my life," Eldir said suddenly, head still bowed, "And I am sorry. He will not be forgotten."

Again, Link nodded. So Sheik had died saving Eldir - suddenly, he wanted nothing more to do with him.

Eldir sighed, then stood. "I will take my leave," he murmured, and swept away.

And now there was silence, heavy and thick. The few people that had bothered to turn up for Sheik's last moment were filing away from the temple, now - finally, only Zelda and Naziya remained.

The princess glanced around. Then she said in a rush, "I have to tell you something. Do you know what a Shadow Guardian is?"

Link shook his head. Neither did he particularly care, unless it could bring Sheik back.

Zelda bit her lip. "When - when a Sheikah who belongs to the Royal Family dies in their service," she started, voice faltering, "And their - their body isn't too... damaged -" She choked on the last word, squeezing her eyes shut. "The Royal Family member can do a... a ritual, if the Sheikah is willing... they become a Shadow Guardian."

Finally, Link raised his head, a frown on his face. Sheik had been in the service of the Royal Family, and he had died to protect Eldir. And aside from the wound that had torn open his chest, he was still... well. Largely intact. "What happens then?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"Then..." Zelda closed her eyes, almost swaying - gently, Naziya slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Then, their soul is sent to the River of the Dead instead of being able to move on. But it means that... that a Royal Family member can bring them back to serve them again."

For a long, long moment, he simply stared at her. "We can bring him back?" he whispered.

And Zelda nodded. "But not for three days, and... Link, it's temporary at best," she practically pleaded. "Weeks to months - Shadow Guardians are only supposed to be recalled when they're really needed. We can bring him back - I will, for you - but... he'll die all over again when it's over."

A sad smile crossed her face fleetingly. "But at least you'll be able to say goodbye."

Link glanced away again. He could gain Sheik again, but then lose him all over again... could he be that selfish, to make him live again, only to die at the end of it? "Will it hurt? When - at the end. Will he feel pain?"

Zelda hesitated, then, softly, confirmed, "From what I know, it's painless. He'd just... fade."

Link exhaled heavily. "If he won't feel pain... then... okay." The last word was barely audible - he was condemning Sheik to death even as they returned him to life, but a part of him so selfish it was screaming just wanted to see him again.

Gently, Zelda leaned in to brush a kiss across his forehead. "Okay," she whispered back, "Then we'll come back in three days. Are you ready to go? It's already dark..."

He shook his head. "I'll stay here," he told her, and settled back against the pillar.

Pain flashed across her face, but she nodded. "If that's what you want," she told him gently, then murmured something to Naziya, who darted off. "But... take care of yourself, okay?"

He nodded again, still gazing at the letter. The torches had already been lit, marking the entrance to the temple and sending flickering gold over his hands. "Okay," he murmured, not really sure whether he was answering Zelda or simply steeling himself to open the envelope.

And then there was a blanket being tucked around his shoulders, Naziya still holding a basket packed with bread and cheese and a few bottles of water. "See you in three days," the other Sheikah told him, her voice almost steady.

"See you, 'Ziya," he said softly, "Thanks, Zelda."

There was the sound of soft footsteps as the two left, and then silence.

Link took a steadying breath, gazing down at the envelope. Well, there was no time like the present, was there? He bit his lip, then broke the seal, unfolding the letter inside.

He could not have predicted the contents.

_Link,_

_If you read this, then I am dead. And I am sorry. I write this as I watch you sleep - it's an hour from dawn, and perhaps I'll wake you soon so that we may greet the day together. I pray that it will not be our last._

_I owe you a sincere apology. My behaviour when we first met was a reaction based on fear - it wasn't mere envy, like I had told you before. You spoke of my aid in a time centuries in to the future, at the same age I am now, and then disappearing once my role was fulfilled. At first, I did not understand._

_But then I learnt of the one way that I would be able to aid you in the distant future - and it would take my death for that to happen._

_And so I hated you, for a little. I unfairly blamed you, the innocent bearer of bad news, for the death I knew would approach. I thought that I would meet it at the hands of those bandits - that would have been preferable, for me. I would not have to face you afterwards._

_But then I came out of that misadventure quite alive, and I found I could no longer hate you. Indeed, I doubt I had ever hated you from the beginning - just the fact that I would be soon to die._

_Instead, I fell in love with you._

Link stopped reading there, swiped at the moisture on his cheeks.

_How could I have ever anticipated it? You were a fool in green spouting stories about the future and who had indirectly informed me of my impending death. But you never acted in an ill manner. You never hated in return. All you ever demanded was friendship - and that, I was willing to give you. That and more._

_These past few weeks have been the happiest of my life - happier than a childhood in the village, happier than friendship with Zelda. You complimented me, made me a better person - I did not have to close myself off in a box if I had someone to let me out._

_Now, though... now, I must make my heart hard, although I doubt I will succeed. We ride off to face our fates - I fully expect this to be the encounter to go wrong, the one where I would die, the one where I would become a ghost to haunt the River of the Dead for a minor eternity._

_And I live in the hope that, one day, centuries from now, I will be resurrected and returned to you - to a you that does not yet know me. Where you were a stranger to me before, now I will be a stranger to you._

_But I can endure that, if it means seeing your face again, if it means that you succeed and live and thrive._

_I'm sorry._

_Live well._

_I love you._

_Sahil_

 

 

Three days of the cold, three days of hunger, three days of waking up in pain because he had fallen asleep at a peculiar angle. Sheik's letter was never far from his hand or his heart, tucked between the chain mail shirt and his undershirt when he wasn't reading and re-reading every last line.

Those damned three days were haunting him. Blearily, he remembered Termina, and three days, and trying not to flinch every time he looked at Kafei's red eyes.

Finally, at sunset on the third day, Zelda and Naziya returned. Zelda looked like she hadn't been sleeping well - Naziya was standing closer than usual, keeping a worried eye on her charge.

"Link," she acknowledged quietly, and held out a hand for him. He accepted it, getting to his feet, expression blank. "Are you ready?"

Slowly, he nodded.

He was silent as he followed them in to the temple, Zelda handing him a bundle of cloth and something heavy - a loose tunic, pants, boots, a scarf, Sheik's mask, and, tucked between the folds of fabric, his lyre. He recognised them vaguely as items that Sheik had worn on his days off, belongings he'd find familiar, safe.

A few of the blind attendants emerged from the depths of the temple. Link jumped, keeping a wide berth of them - instead, they headed straight for the platform where Sheik's body had burnt.

Zelda took her place at its head, eyes closed, repeating the murmured words the attendants said. Naziya cut her palms with a little knife, guided her to press her hands against the stone, watched worriedly as her blood trickled out in to the pattern of an Eye.

Something was happening. Even Link could feel it.

The blood glowed dazzlingly white for a moment then disappeared, fading in to the stone. And suddenly, the stone wasn't quite so empty - shape was starting to take form on it, colourless limbs, an inner glow that grew so bright that Link had to look away.

When he looked back, the attendants were draping a white sheet over a motionless body, stretched out on the stone.

For a moment, he could barely breath - only when Zelda murmured, "Go to him," that he took a shaky step forward, enough to see that the body on the altar was dragging in shuddering breaths, eyes squeezed shut, shivering in the cold.

Ignoring the attendants, he sat on the edge of the altar itself and reached for the nearest of Sheik's hands.

The shuddering breaths stopped - indeed, Link had the feeling he was holding his breath. And, slowly, Sheik's eyes began to open.

They were unfocused, at first, glazed and disoriented. Then, slowly, they fixed on Link's face - and tears began to squeeze out of the corners.

Distantly, he heard Zelda murmur a thank you to the attendants, then dismiss them. But all he could focus on was Sheik - Sheik, and the shock and horror and fear and grief on his face; Sheik, and the long, jagged scar that tore across his chest; Sheik, who was alive and well and so terribly afraid. He didn't even have to think twice before leaning down to drag him in to his arms.

And that, apparently, was all Sheik needed - he tensed up once, then his body went limp as he wrapped his arms around Link's shoulders and started sobbing.

It was easy to mourn the death of a comrade. Not so easy, but still possible, to mourn the death of family or friends or a loved one. But how hard it must have been to mourn the death of one's own self...

And all Link could do was hold him, shifting when Zelda tentatively joined in to wrap an arm around Sheik's shoulders and to bury her face against his neck, the two of them trying to help Sheik hold on - to them, and to life.

Finally, the sobbing slowed and ceased, leaving Sheik limp and worn out in Link's arms. "How long?" he asked hoarsely, twisting to gaze at Zelda.

"Just three days," she murmured, taking one of his hands. "We - it was a joint decision. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he told her quietly, head dropping back to Link's shoulder.

He was still shivering, Link noted idly, reaching for the clothes he had been given. "Here," he whispered, unfolding the tunic, "You should warm up."

"Or I'll catch my death?" Sheik asked him bitterly, unresisting as Link helped him on with the tunic. Link's hands stilled for a moment, eyes closing, and Sheik exhaled unsteadily. "Sorry."

Zelda sighed softly, resting a hand against his shoulder. "Sheik, because I brought you back, you're supposed to be answerable to me, now," she told him, voice faltering. "So I'll give you your first order - you're answerable only to yourself. If you want to come back to the castle, you know you'll always be welcome to, as my friend - but you won't be a servant of the Royal Family now."

Sheik twisted to gaze at her, his expression inscrutable. "Thanks," he whispered, and squeezed Link's hand.

She smiled a little. "You're welcome." Leaning in to kiss him on the forehead, she sat back a little and sighed. "I should be getting back - Eldir got back this morning, and he wants to go over reports from the - you know. You have a room booked at the inn. Take as much time as you need, okay?"

"Thanks," he echoed, and pulled her in to a hug. She closed her eyes, clung back to him, then reluctantly parted.

"See you," she breathed, then glanced across to Naziya - who gave Sheik a quick hug of her own, then followed her princess out of the temple.

Silence reigned. Quietly, Sheik reached for his remaining clothes - pants, boots, scarf, and mask - and pulled them on, fidgeting with the lyre in his lap. He wasn't quite looking at Link, wasn't quite looking at anything in particular - eyes still red-rimmed, he looked rather like he was in shock.

"I read your letter," Link said suddenly, "I don't blame you for being angry at me."

Sheik nodded, but didn't answer immediately. "What's done is done," he finally said, still not looking at him. "I don't hate you any more."

Link smiled weakly. "I love you too."

Finally, Sheik turned to look at him, eyes dark with hurt. "Really?"

"Yeah." It was just a whisper, but in the stillness of the temple, it carried.

Slowly, Sheik nodded. Then he stood, extending a hand to Link, and murmured, "Let's go." Link gladly took the offered hand, and led him away.


	9. Cry For A Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Coarse language, violence, character death.

The room in the inn faced east, and the morning after Sheik's return found the two of them watching the sun rise once again.

Sheik, after a few bites of a meagre dinner, had drifted off to sleep nearly immediately, tucked in Link's arms. Link, for his part, found rest harder to come by - it had been nearly midnight by the time he managed to find sleep, waking up in a start after Sheik had cried out.

A nightmare, he told him, head bowed, and when Link had gently asked him what about, he had merely answered, "The River."

Now, both had abandoned sleep entirely, a quiet melancholy over the both of them as they watched the sun rising. Link knew that only a few houses away was the one where Sheik had been born and raised, where they had watched another sunrise - very deliberately, Sheik hadn't even looked at it when they had arrived at the inn the night before.

"My first day as the living dead," Sheik said suddenly, voice tinged with bitterness, and Link turned to frown at him.

"You're not dead. You - well, you came back." He gave him a weak smile, hopefully reassuring. "So now you're alive again..."

"No," he said quietly, "I'm just a ghost."

Silently, he drew the Sheikah near. "You feel real to me."

Sheik laughed bitterly, then reached for Link's hand, pressing it against the new scar on his upper body. "Real people don't survive being torn open by swords so that they drown in their own blood."

Link flinched.

Both were silent for a long time. Finally, Sheik sighed. "It seems it's an inevitability that I'll be brought back in your time. When I see you there, you won't know me, will you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No... well, I didn't know you at first." A crooked smile crossed Link's face. "I wanted to be your friend, though... you were the first person I ever wanted. After I got sent back, I never stopped looking for you..."

"And then you found me again, and where I had been a stranger to you, now you were a stranger to me," he murmured. "It must have been difficult - I expect I will feel much the same when I see your younger self."

Nodding slowly, a frown crossed Link's face. The idea that Sheik would be hurting as much when he saw him that he did when he saw Sheik...

"Tell me about it?" Sheik murmured, head dropping to Link's shoulder. "Of the land, and the people - you don't have to tell me any more of my fate. But if I'm to live in this time..."

Well, that made sense. Slowly, Link nodded, one hand coming up to start stroking Sheik's unruly hair. "Well, in my time, it's a lot more united - the Gorons and the Zora and the Gerudo and their lands are part of Hyrule, and they're unified under the Hyrulean Royal Family..."

This, at least, was easier than helping someone recover from their death. Here, at least, he could be of some use - a distraction, if nothing else.

Sheik nodded, frowning. "I wonder what happened," he murmured, reaching for Link's other hand. "My people are friendly with the Gorons, but no one really associates with the Zora, and the Gerudo shut themselves off..."

Link shrugged, then murmured a quick apology when he noticed he had jostled Sheik. "I don't really know. They still don't mix a lot - the path up the mountain's usually closed, and you need to know the Lullaby to get in to the Domain."

"The Royal Lullaby," Sheik said quietly, and Link glanced at him, frowning a little. Not Zelda's Lullaby, then? Perhaps that was yet another thing that would come later. Or perhaps it had just been a nickname that Impa had given the song in honour of her young charge - when he returned, he'd have to ask. "Will you play it?" he asked suddenly, startling Link out of his thoughts. "I find it... a comfort."

Nodding, Link leaned in, brushing his lips across Sheik's forehead. "Okay," he murmured, and retrieved the ocarina from the pouch on his belt (lying folded beside the bed).

Slowly, he lifted it to his lips - and then he began to play, every pleasant song he could think of, every light and gentle melody. Zelda's Lullaby became the Serenade of Water, and the Serenade of Water became the Song of Storms. Outside, a light rain began to fall, but Link still continued - the Song of Storms became the Sun Song, and the Sun Song moved effortlessly in to Saria's Song.

A faint smile crossed his lips as he played. One day, the little girl in the forest would write this, and one day, she would play it for him.

Finally, he ended things with the Minuet of Forest, enough warbling notes and variations to ensure that he stayed right there. "That's the first song you'll ever teach me," he murmured, lowering the ocarina and reaching down to brush Sheik's hair out of his face again.

"It's nice," Sheik murmured, then sighed, turning to Link and pressing a light kiss against his lips. "We should get some breakfast - it's a new day."

Link reached for Sheik's hand, a sad smile across his face. "It is," he murmured, and let Sheik lead him away from his thoughts.

 

 

The day slipped by, and then the night. Once, that evening, Link had reached for Sheik, slipping his hands beneath the tunic - at the Sheikah's flinch, he had contended with merely curling up against him throughout the night.

Another day passed, the hours passing in an instant and an eternity. Sheik was restless, quiet and melancholy - he would push himself out of Link's arms, pace the floor, gaze out the window, then return to the comfort and warmth of Link's lap. The second night, Link had woken twice from the sound of Sheik's tears. Once, it had been from the slowly cooling sheets beside him and the most mournful piece he had ever heard on a lyre.

Finally, nearly two days after he had been resurrected, he decided it was time to return to the castle.

The ride wasn't long, the two sharing a horse - neither were particularly large men, and neither had any objection to sharing personal space. It was a decently pleasant afternoon, too - nearly evening, there had been rain earlier in the day, but now the skies were red and gold, fluffy clouds low on the horizon.

The horse had been stabled with a promise to have it returned to Kakariko (or, perhaps, they would return if the castle itself proved to be an unhappy residence), and the two had returned to the castle - Sheik had kept his head bowed, holding openly on to Link's hand.

Of course, it couldn't last long.

"Sheik!" one of the guards frowned, jogging over and giving his and Link's joined hands a double-take. "Where have you been? Do you know where His Majesty is?"

A frown crossed Link's face - then they hadn't informed the castle that Sheik had died? Glancing across, he found sheer neutrality on his lover's face.

"I do not," he told the guard evenly, "The King is no longer within my realms of responsibility, I now answer only to Princess Zelda." And, tugging on Link's hand, he continued down the hall, ignoring the guard's startled expression and exclamation.

But the news was still troubling. Hadn't Zelda said that Eldir had returned from the lake two days ago?

Finally, Link recognised where they were heading - Zelda's quarters. She probably knew, then - perhaps the king had left on some other mission, something vital to the security of Hyrule, and thus confidential.

All that shattered the moment he pushed open the door.

Zelda was there, alright - and so was Naziya, crumpled in a corner, blood dribbling out of her nose. But it wasn't Naziya who caught his attention.

It was the princess, pale and still, her eyes closed and an expression like she had just seen a ghost written all over her face.

Link hadn't even realised he was swearing as he bolted to the princess's side, reaching for her wrist, dragging her tight sleeves back as he felt for a pulse. Was that it? Perhaps - it was barely there, barely distinguishable, and he wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or not. His own pulse thudding in his ears, he rested his fingertips against her neck, slumping back in relief when he felt it was there. Slow, certainly, and weak - but there.

Reaching for a mirror (and why was it on the ground, cracked as it lay on the carpet, and not on her desk where it belonged?), he carefully held it before his lips - slowly, a puff of air fogged its surface up. And then another - slow, shallow, and steady.

"She's alive," he murmured, glancing back at Sheik - the Sheikah was slumped against the door frame, watching them with horror in his eyes. "Sahil -"

Link stood and returned to his lover's side, wrapping his arms around his waist. "We'll find out what happened," he told him, "I promise."

Then he slipped away, crouching by Naziya's side - to his immense relief, the girl stirred as he reached for her wrist, a soft moan escaping her lips.

And then she sat up so suddenly she nearly knocked her head to Link's, a scream of, " _Zelda_!" erupting. Glancing around wildly, she barely took in Link (and Sheik, now lingering behind him) before scrambling across to the floor to Zelda. "Wake up! Please, _wake up_!"

Link swapped a wide-eyed stare with Sheik, then quickly joined her. "'Ziya, she's still alive," he told her urgently, "It's okay, she's probably just unconscious -"

Naziya slumped back against the floor, shaking her head fiercely. " _Nen_ , _nen_ , _nen_ , _nen_ , _nen_..." she whispered hoarsely - Link glanced at Sheik, who dragged down his mask and mouthed the word 'no' - " _Nen_ , _**nen**_..."

"'Ziya?" Link murmured, reaching out to touch her arm - she whipped around violently, her eyes wide. But it wasn't Link she was staring at with such horror or accusation - it was Sheik.

"It was him," she whispered, then slumped to the ground again, trembling.

Link's brow furrowed. "He's been with me since you left Kakariko," he told her uncertainly, and the girl shook her head fiercely.

"His _Alifha_!"

Now, it was Sheik who was frowning, alarm on his face. "What did Kula do?" he asked uncertainly, "He - he didn't hurt Zelda, did he?"

Naziya nodded minutely, then lifted her head, tears streaking down her face. "We were in here. He came to the door, and he was really angry - he started screaming about how it was all her fault and that she was evil and that she had to put things right. He never gave her a chance to answer back. And he hit her in the face." She swallowed hard, hands squeezed in to balls. "I tried to stop him - I'd sneak up behind him and hit a pressure point to knock him out. But he heard me."

And now she was shaking again, deliberately not looking at Zelda, her eyes half squeezed shut.

"And he spun around - he hit me in the face as well and said I was as bad as _her_." Carefully, she touched her nose, wincing when her fingers came away bloodied - silently, Link reached in to a pouch and drew out a scrap of cloth he had been using to polish the ocarina, handing it to her. "Thanks. And - then he raised his hand, and there was purple around it, and the next thing I knew, Link was waking me up, and - where is he?!" The last words were practically screamed.

Sheik flinched back, but shook his head. "I don't know."

Link didn't answer, gazing at Zelda's unconscious form. "Is there anyone who would have seen anything?" he asked the room at large, "After you were knocked out, I mean. We have to find out what he did..."

Naziya was silent for a minute, then she scrambled back up to her feet, racing around to Zelda's desk and diving in to one of the drawers. Papers, trinkets, miscellanea was scattered as she searched, finally emerging triumphant with a milky white stone the size of her fist in one hand.

"Zelda has a memory crystal," she told them grimly, "It was in a drawer, so it'll just be sound, but..." She exhaled, then thrust the stone in to Sheik's hands and returned to the floor next to Zelda, brushing hair out of the princess's face. "I'm sorry, Zellie," she whispered, and Link pretended he didn't hear.

"What's a memory crystal?" he asked Sheik instead - Sheik was frowning, handling the stone.

"It records everything it sees and hears, and can replay a primitive version of it," he murmured, glancing across at Naziya. "How long?"

The girl glanced up at the clock, then started. "Three hours ago," she said softly, and returned her attention to the princess.

Sheik nodded - then he held it to his lips, breathed on it, and murmured, "Past, hours, three."

And it began.

The sound was indeed muffled, the room noticeably dimmer even as the crystal brightened. For a while, all they could hear was a quiet murmured conversation, a few short laughs - Zelda's and Naziya's voices, not quite clear enough to make out the words.

And then there was a bang that made both Link and Sheik jump and Naziya flinch - indeed, on the recording, they could hear Naziya saying, "Get back, Zelda!"

A startled silence reigned - when Zelda spoke, it was steady, no hint of fear and merely a little concern in her voice. "Kula - it's Kula, isn't it? Is there something the matter?"

Kula laughed, and it was the same mildly deranged laugh Link had heard when he had confirmed that he and Sheik had been intimate. "Oh, something's the matter. But you're too stupid to know that, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" This time, the princess sounded astonished, and Link didn't blame her - glancing up, he caught a sight of the utter bewilderment on Sheik's face and reached across the stone to catch his hand.

"He's dead!" Kula screamed, and this time, all three of them flinched. "He's dead, and he's my brother, and he's the other half of my soul, and - and - and I felt it! I felt myself being torn apart! He's _gone_!"

There was stunned silence for a moment, both from the memory crystal and from the trio listening to it. Sheik exhaled unsteadily, reaching up to rub at his eyes, and Link abandoned his side of the crystal to join Sheik and pull him in to his arms.

Sheik went limp, still disbelieving at what he was hearing - which was Zelda's strained, soft, "Ah -" of surprise. "It's really okay, I promise. It's -"

"Shut up!" And then there was the sound of a hand striking flesh, and a pained yelp from Zelda - Naziya, across from them, balled her hands in to fists. "It's your evil that's done this! It's your fault he's dead! You have to put it right! You broke it, so you fix it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zelda pleaded, sounding half close to tears - Sheik merely looked stunned, disbelieving at this conflict between his brother and his closest friend. "Kula, I'm sorry, but -"

And then there was another cry of pain, but this time from Naziya. In the office, the girl had dropped her head, bangs covering her face. "Traitor! You -!" And then it was simply an incoherent cry in Sheikah, and Sheik winced.

The next sound on the recording was a harsh, high-pitched crackle and a scream, and then the thump of a body hitting the carpet. Link glanced across to Naziya - her hands were shaking.

"Kula, what have you done?" Zelda whispered, barely loud enough to be picked up by the stone.

Kula didn't answer immediately, a terse silence filling the room. Link didn't dare to breathe, moving only to raise his eyes to where Naziya held Zelda in her arms.

"Fix it," he said simply.

"How?" she replied hollowly, and another bang rang through the room, followed by that unhinged laugh.

"How do you think, you stupid bitch?"

There was a quiet exhalation from Zelda. "Kula, I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean, but I -"

"With the Triforce!" he half-screamed. And a frown began to form across Link's face - hadn't the outpost in the forest said that they had wanted the Triforce?

Then... what if Kula was one of them? That made him the enemy - Link swallowed hard. Could Sheik fight his own twin?

Zelda, frankly, sounded astonished. "...What?" she asked, sounding deeply bewildered, "Kula, I - what are you talking about?"

And there was a frustrated scream - silence, then a thump as something hit the wall. "You have it! Use it! I don't care what it takes, just give him back to me!"

"I don't have it," she said simply, softly, and Kula's raving immediately stopped. "My father only possessed it once, and he used it to wish for peace. And then it was returned to the Sacred Realm - he let people believe he had it, it was good for the population's peace of mind. He told me about it on his death bed, I've only known for a few months, myself."

There was a long, long silence. She didn't possess the Triforce? Glancing unbidden to his left hand, where the triangle mark had been dormant all that time, he frowned - then the army preparing to attack Hyrule was doing so under false pretenses.

And then Kula screamed, words tumbling out of his mouth like they were trying to escape. "You - he's dead because of you - he's _mine_ , he's not your family's - he shouldn't have - why was he - he's dead! He's dead! _He's dead!_ Fix it! Why won't you fix it - why - this is _all your fault_!"

There was another of the high crackles that they had heard when he had attacked Naziya, and Zelda's cry as it struck. But still, she managed to stay conscious, a half-sobbed, "You don't understand!" escaping her - another crackle, and another cry.

"I understand," Kula said, his voice icily calm. "You killed my brother. And you can't fix it. So I'll kill you."

And then the recording was overtaken by crackling, and Sheik grabbed the stone and hurled it as far as he could, the heavy crystal impacting on the wall and shattering a picture frame. "Kula," he whispered voicelessly, then turned to Link and buried his face against his shoulder.

Helplessly, Link reached up to stroke his hair. It was an impossible situation - Sheik was bound to the Royal Family (or had been), had been one of Zelda's closest friends. But it had been his twin brother who had done this to her - and worse, in his name.

The room was totally silent, now. Sheik was shaking in stunned disbelief, Link silent as he held on to him. Naziya, holding on to Zelda, was white-faced and wide-eyed - a Sheikah attacking a member of the Royal Family was the greatest taboo in Hyrule.

...But no. It wasn't _totally_ silent.

From the memory crystal that had yet to be deactivated, they could hear whispering - over and over and over, a childish plaintive lament of, "What have I done, what have I done, what have I done, what have I done..." He promptly switched in to Sheikah, and Link glanced curiously at Sheik - Sheik simply shook his head, looking helpless.

"'I've ruined everything'," Naziya translated softly from nearby, "'This is all my fault. I've sinned, I've sinned' -" And then a sudden bang came through the stone and Link jumped.

Now, there really was silence - but for Sheik gradually going whiter and whiter, then scrambling to his feet and sprinting out the door.

"Sahil! Wait!" Link shouted, then glanced back at Naziya. "Look after her!" he pleaded, then raced after his lover, catching up with him a hallway away. "Sahil, stop! Where are you going?" he demanded, reaching for his arm.

Sheik shook him off. "Village," he gasped, taking a sharp corner and nearly bowling over a confused-looking guard. "Have to - he would -"

"I can get you there!" Link told him urgently, and Sheik stopped short. "Ocarina - there's a song - takes you straight to the temple."

"Then do it!"

Link nodded hastily, hands shaking as he fished the ocarina out of the pouch. "Hold on to me," he instructed, then, as Sheik wrapped his arms around his waist, raised the ocarina and played the nocturne again.

The castle faded out, the Shadow Temple swirled in to view. No sooner than they had touched the ground had Sheik bolted, sprinting down the grassy slope towards the village proper. Link followed after him, gazing up and around him - the sky above was tinged crimson, a rising moon bloodied red.

And the shadows - they swirled and rose up amongst them like they were alive.

It only took Link a second upon reaching the village to see that something was terribly wrong.

Normally, the village at night (from what little he could tell) would largely be a quiet, almost lonely place, most of its inhabitants tucked away in their houses. But now, they were gathered - a quiet, angry crowd collected around the well, angry mutterings and fearful pleadings as three robed, blindfolded attendants stood around it with their palms pressed to its surface, a chant that sounded like a scream coming from the three of them.

All around it, spilling in to the grass, tracing out a great circle, white marks and symbols glowed blindingly white. It shone from beneath the six hands pressed against the stone, it gleamed from the patterns painted down its interior, now drained of water.

"No!" Sheik screamed, and raced forward, grabbing one of the attendant's arms to try and throw them off. "Stop!"

And then he stopped himself, hands white-knuckled against the stone as he gazed down in to its depths, aghast.

Link hurried to join him, eyes widening. At the bottom of the well was Kula, hair cropped short, Eye symbol painted in something dark red (was that blood?) - maskless, naked, and kneeling on the stone as more marks glowed around the palms pressed to the floor.

Kula gazed up at them like he couldn't quite believe it, then shook his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, the sound echoing up through the well. "Link, get him out of the circle. It'll destroy him. _Alifha_..."

He bit his lip, then lifted his head again, met Sheik's horrified gaze, and whispered, "I love you, _Alifha_."

And then the chanting reached a crescendo and Link grabbed Sheik, dragging him out of the circle, and Sheik was shouting and fighting and Link was sure he had just broken his jaw - and then, for just a moment, everything went blindingly white.

And Sheik screamed.

Never before had Link heard such pain coming from another individual, and never again did he want to hear anything like that. If the sound made his own heart break, he couldn't even imagine how much it would hurt the one who had made it - all of the fight going out of him, Sheik went limp, legs buckling beneath him.

Gently, Link lowered him to the ground, helpless as Sheik screamed and sobbed, as he struck him and clung to him, no longer fighting to get back to the well - indeed, he didn't look at it once.

Link did, though. The attendants were passing by, returning to the temple, and no more white marks could be seen - just a circle of scorched grass, the sky rapidly returning to normal as the crowd turned away.

Only two remained, now.

Eventually, Sheik's sobbing would slow and stop. And eventually, he would get to his feet, crossing the grass to Miruna and Kalen like a ghost, bowing to his own parents.

"I am very sorry for the deaths of your sons," he would say hollowly, then turn his back and walk away with another word, stopping by Link, head bowed.

And eventually, he would force the words past his lips, telling Link, "Kula is dead, and so is Sahil. I am now only Sheik."

And, eventually, one day, he would stop mourning for the other part of his soul that had been torn from him - but until that day came, Link could only sit and wait and comfort him, and hope that, eventually, Sheik's broken heart would mend.


	10. Nowhere Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, coarse language.

It was a silent, melancholy Sheik who returned to the castle with Link, eschewing warping in favour for trudging through the the field. Head bowed, he didn't speak, didn't even look at Link - once, Link had rested a hand on his back, and Sheik had spun around to strike his hand away so quickly that he hadn't dared to try since.

So, in silence, they pressed on.

Reaching the town had produced the first new reaction he had seen from him since they had left Kakariko - Sheik had lifted his head slowly, gazed at the evening crowds, then flinched and moved in closer to Link. Frowning, Link gave him a curious look, then shook his head. He could ask later, when they were safe and sound back at the castle.

Their first stop was to head straight for Zelda's chambers. But, as they had found when they had pushed open the door, it was empty - bare, but for a note left on the desk.

He couldn't read it - instead, he passed it to Sheik, who glanced at it once then headed out again, pocketing the note. Link sighed, then followed after him - he supposed they'd find out what it said later. Now, though, Sheik was headed to the healer's rooms, lingering awkwardly at the door.

"Ah - they're in the far room," the healer said tiredly as he glanced up to see them, "I assume you've told no one about this?"

Link shook his head. "No, we didn't have time," he said softly, then had to hurry up to catch up with Sheik.

The far room, unlike the rest of the curtained-off beds in the main room, was small and private, a little window with the curtains drawn over a soft bed. Very little else was in the room - a single chair and a table against the far wall, and a plush rug spread out on the floor, was the extent of it.

"This is the Royal room," Naziya said softly from the chair she had pulled up beside the bed, her hand still resting on Zelda's still one. "It's not supposed to be used - normally, if one of the Royal Family is sick, they're attended to in their own rooms. This is only for really serious things."

She smiled weakly. "The healers can't work it out. They said she's... stable, but..." And she sighed softly. "They can't wake her up."

Link sighed, leaning back against the wall. "They don't know what magic Ku-- what magic was used against her?"

Beside him, Sheik stiffened, but if Naziya took note of it, she didn't say. "They think it's a time curse - it basically locks her in time. If Kula could come back and reverse it..."

Link winced even before Sheik slammed a fist against the wall. "No use," he said bitterly, "He's dead." And he turned to storm out of the room.

Naziya's eyes widened, gazing at the door that Sheik had just slammed shut. "What happened?" she asked Link hesitantly, and, slowly, Link explained. "Oh... that's terrible," she winced. "Poor Sahil."

Sighing, Link shook his head. "He said he's not Sahil any more... just Sheik," he murmured, and slowly, Naziya nodded.

"I understand. I'm glad I don't have any brothers or sisters." She sighed again, looking down at Zelda's pale face, brushing a strand of red out of her face. "Actually... I take that back. I do have a sister..."

Link nodded slowly. "What do we do now?" he whispered. "Has Eldir come back?" With the princess locked in time and the king's whereabouts unknown, Link couldn't help but be concerned.

Naziya shook her face, gazing down at Zelda's face. For a long moment, neither spoke - Link was trying to resist the near overwhelming urge to go and find Sheik, to comfort him, to tell him it'd be alright. But then, how could it be, for him? In the past few days, he had died, been brought back, learnt that his twin had cursed his closest friend, then seen his twin die.

Finally, Naziya spoke up again. "We do need him, though. He saw Kula a few days ago - maybe he knows something. But I haven't seen him since lunch today..."

Link nodded distractedly, trying to put a time line together. Five days ago, they had set out on their separate ways. Link had returned to find Sheik dead, and his funeral had been that evening. He had waited for three days - in that time, Eldir had travelled to the lake castle, and had returned on the morning of the third day.

In the evening, they had brought him back. Two days had passed - that afternoon, they had returned to the castle, found Zelda, and seen Kula die.

Somewhere over the course of the day, Eldir had disappeared, and Kula had re-emerged in the castle. When? Where? It was coming up on five hours now since Zelda had been attacked - when had Eldir last been seen?

"I'm going to go talk to some people," Link said slowly, "I'll be back later, okay?"

Naziya nodded. "And if you find Sah-- I mean, Sheik - tell him I'm sorry about his brother," she said softly, then turned her attention back to Zelda.

Link hesitated at the threshold, then nodded and headed back out.

 

 

It hadn't taken him long to reach his conclusion - the last time anyone had seen Eldir had been a little under five hours ago, at almost the precise time that Kula had attacked Zelda. Perhaps he had pursued Kula, tried to stop him? Maybe he had had something to do with the scene at the well - or perhaps he had been unable to track him down.

But surely he would have known that it was logical for a Sheikah to return to the nearest Sheikah village. And Eldir was a member of the Royal Family - he would have no trouble travelling to Kakariko.

It was a rather perplexed Link that had returned to Zelda's new place of habitation, leaning against the wall with his forehead creased. "Everyone's saying about the same thing," he told Naziya with a frown, "They last saw him right around when Kula - um, was here. And no one's seen him since."

Naziya frowned as well. "Maybe he went after him," she murmured, and Link nodded.

"I thought that too, but we didn't see him at the village..." He shrugged. "Wouldn't that be the first place he'd go?"

Silent for another long moment, Naziya finally murmured, "We need Sheik. If he's bound to Eldir through the Shadow Guardian ritual, he'd be able to find him."

"I'll find him," Link said softly, and giving the girls one last backwards glance, he started off again.

But it had to be said - he wasn't looking particularly hard. His room - empty. Eldir's chambers, where he knew Sheik used to sleep in a tiny room off to one side - nothing. The library - uninhabited. Even the kitchen had a distinct dearth of his lover (although, having not eaten since lunch, he did take the chance to make himself an open-faced cheese and beef sandwich).

It was only when he ventured in to the gardens that he began making progress - shivering slightly in the chill of the evening, his attention was caught by faint, mournful lyre music, both behind him and above him. Exhaling, he turned to return inside, jogging up several flights of stairs until he reached a balcony. And from there, it was easy enough to climb on to the roof itself, joining Sheik as they looked out over the gardens.

"'Ziya told me to tell you that she's sorry to hear about Kula," he said softly, and Sheik's hands faltered on the lyre strings for a moment.

"He always was rash," he finally said, voice choked. "I expect he told the village elders that he had killed her... they - are superstitious." Head dropping to his chest, he murmured, "It protects the village. The ritual. It just needs a - a sacrifice."

Something heavy in Link's chest dropped to his stomach at the pain in Sheik's voice. He couldn't imagine it, losing someone like a twin, no. But still, he knew that he was hurting badly - almost tentatively, he wrapped an arm around Sheik's shoulders.

Sheik stiffened, then slumped against Link's side. He was shaking again, although he stayed dry-eyed, instead, he simply gazed out at the garden and clutched the lyre to his chest. "Idiot," he whispered, and a speck of white landed on his cheek - the first snowfall of the season. "He's a - he never even listened to her. Idiot."

Privately, Link agreed, although somehow he thought it might not be the best idea to say that out loud. Instead, he said quietly, "I didn't know he knew magic. I thought he was a dancer."

Another long silence, and Link began to wonder if prompting Sheik to remember his life instead of his death was a bad idea. But, just as he was about to apologise, Sheik nodded slowly. "He was always interested in magic," he started, voice hoarse. "All Sheikah are encouraged to learn as much as possible - combat, magic, the arts. The week before our thirteenth birthdays, we're tested - they see what we're best at. For Kula, he was good with magic, but he was a better dancer." He smiled a little bitterly. "I was decent all around, and I was the right age - Prince Eldir would need a guard the next year, not just a nanny. On our thirteenth birthdays, we were assigned our new roles."

He sighed softly, head resting on Link's shoulder. "Neither of us got what we wanted - he wanted to do magic, I wanted to be a musician... instead, he became a dancer for the king's brother and I was sworn to Eldir. We were trained for a year, and then, the day we turned fourteen, we were sent away."

Link nodded, running a gentle hand up and down his back, reaching up to brush the light dusting of snow out of his hair. "What was it like, going to the castle?" he murmured curiously.

"Big," Sheik said softly, "And crowded. I was sworn to guard Eldir, but Zelda became my friend - she was only a year younger than me, and she loved to hear me play." A shuddering breath escaped his lips, fogging up in the air as he turned to bury his face against Link's shoulder. "How could he have hurt her? Why?"

Silence fell. And then, tentatively, Link suggested, "There's a way - maybe - to find out... Eldir was last seen right around when..." He paused, discomforted. "When all that happened. Naziya thinks that you'll be able to find where he is - he might know why he did that. And maybe we'll be able to reverse it and wake her up."

Sheik remained silent for another moment, then stood, keeping his balance easily on the sloping roof. "Very well," he murmured, and slid down the tiles to the balcony. Link sighed to himself, then followed a little more carefully. Gazing out at the snow drifting out over the garden, he shook his head, then followed him back inside.

 

 

Zelda's room was warm compared to the chill of the snowy air outside - Naziya had lit the fireplace, a map spread out across the table at the back. Glancing up as Link and Sheik entered, she gave them a tired smile. "Hi - I brought a map. We should be able to find him that way."

Link nodded, once again hovering against the wall. "What does he have to do?" he asked, giving Naziya a curious glance as she ushered Sheik in to the chair, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

"Just... concentrate," she murmured, taking several steps back so that Sheik could work.

Slowly, Sheik slid in to the chair, gazing at the map with a vacant expression, dropping his head in to one hand. Link swapped a worried glance with Naziya - what if he couldn't find Eldir? How could they help Zelda then?

But Sheik had lifted a hand, dropping it on the map - and suddenly, he was pale enough that Link was concerned that he might pass out. "Found him," he whispered, voice shaking.

"Where is he?" Naziya demanded, leaning over his shoulder. "He's in the desert?"

Sheik's eyes closed. "He's at the enemy's army base," he whispered, and withdrew his hand like he had been stung. "Where I - the place where I died."

Oh.

That probably wasn't good.

Sheik shoved the chair back and stumbled away, although this time he didn't go far - instead, he grabbed on to Link, clinging as he buried his face against Link's chest. Exhaling, Link wrapped his arms around him, keeping a worried eye both on him and on Naziya, now staring at the map in consternation.

"I guess we have to assume," she started slowly, "That he's been captured. We don't have an army big enough to rescue him, though..."

Link nodded, still holding Sheik to his chest. "Maybe we'll have to rethink our methods, then," he decided. "Instead of a battle, we sneak in and get him out. And if we get caught, we surrender - you can do a lot when you're in a prison block."

Of course, these weren't exactly Gerudo (or... were they? Link wasn't quite sure about their involvement) - he doubted a show of arms would impress them much. Still, it was better than nothing - if not, they would be leaving Eldir - and Hyrule - to an uncertain fate.

Naziya nodded. "I'm willing," she said softly, glancing over at the bed. "I'll do anything."

Link nodded, then glanced down at his lover. "Sheik? You know what it's like there - will you come with us?"

For a long, long moment, Sheik was silent, motionless against him. Finally, he nodded once, stepping back and gazing up at Link. For a moment, his mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, looking like he was considering saying anything - then he shook his head and sighed. "I will. I need to talk to Eldir about something important, anyway."

Again, Link nodded, a curious expression crossing his face. "It's late," he murmured, glancing between the two Sheikah. "We should sleep now, and then set out in the afternoon - it'll be easiest for us to move at night."

Nods from the two. Naziya glanced down at Zelda, then sighed - "I don't want to go back to my room... I'll ask the healer if I can stay here."

Link made an affirmative noise, then wrapped a comforting arm around Sheik's shoulders. "Okay." Voice dropping, he turned to him - "Do you mind if we go back to my room? Or do you want to go to yours?"

Sheik exhaled. "It's not mine any more," he sighed. "Yours is fine."

Once upon a time, perhaps Naziya would have laughed, shooting them a lewd comment. Instead, she barely glanced up, reaching for Zelda's hand again. "Night, boys," she murmured, and didn't say another word as they took their leave.

Now, the castle was quiet. Perhaps they had realised that their king was missing and their princess out of commission, or perhaps the Sheikah amongst them knew that two of their number were gone, or perhaps it was simply a trick of his imagination. But as Link and Sheik returned to the room Link had claimed as his own, he couldn't help but feel that a wave of melancholy had overtaken the castle.

Well, he decided firmly as he undressed, slipping beneath the covers as he held them open for Sheik, tomorrow, they'd find Eldir.

And then they'd get to the bottom of this - once and for all.

 

 

The man in the forest had exaggerated a little, Link learnt the next evening, perched on an outcrop with Sheik and Naziya. Just under a thousand resided in the enemy camps - Hylians, a cluster of Sheikah, some of the fierce Gerudo warriors - he could see a training session in process, the woman pushing the four men she was fighting to their limits and then some.

Amongst them were familiar beasts - Moblins, Lizalfos and Dinolfos, confined to their own areas, stalking the ground. A dozen Iron Knuckles stood dormant and waiting in the sun, and several thin, bony shapes that Link recognised as Stalfos stood beside them. He counted four dozen - a formidable number.

But it wasn't the army that Link was interested in. It was the barracks, sitting in the middle of the Gerudo Fortress - perhaps the Gerudo had allowed them use of their facilities, or perhaps they, too, had been the victim of a takeover.

"The prison is over there," Link whispered, gesturing to a tiny window. "Or - well, it will be in four hundred years. But there's cells all over the place."

Sheik nodded, then guided Link's hand to another building. "That was Eldir's original target," he murmured. "He had reason to believe it was where their leader was - do you see how well-guarded it is?"

Link frowned, gazing down at it. "Do you think they'd keep him there? He's an important prisoner."

"Probably." Naziya was gazing at it herself, a perplexed expression on her face. "They wouldn't execute him, would they? Not without warning..."

"No," Sheik frowned, "He's not dead. But they haven't announced anything, either." Again, he looked like he was about to say something before thinking better of it.

Giving Sheik a curious look, Link nodded. "Then should we try for the prison, or try for there?" he asked, then gazed down again. An idea was beginning to form. "Should we try stealing their uniforms? There's a lot of other Hylians and Sheikah there..."

Naziya gave a rather inelegant snort. "I hope they bathe regularly. Where would we get a couple of people to steal uniforms off of, though?"

"You could try right here," snarled a voice from behind them, and Link whirled around, sword in hand (a generic one - with a mission as risky as this, he hadn't wanted anything to happen to the Master Sword), adrenaline racing through his body like a flood. How had they missed two dozen men sneaking up behind them? "Put down your pointy, boy, and maybe we won't skewer you."

Link hesitated, then laid the sword at his feet, just in the right position to flip back in to his hand if necessary. "What are you going to do to us?" he asked evenly.

Their leader gave an exaggerated pause. "Well, I think this is the part where you say 'take me to your leader', yeah?" he suggested, grinning at Link. "Oh, and you'll be putting down _all_ of your weapons and holding your hands out in front of you. Or our archers will turn you in to a pin cushion."

Archers - he hadn't noticed them, either. Beside him, Sheik grit his teeth, then petulantly threw down his weapons - a short sword, a dozen throwing needles. Naziya had much the same on her, although she set down her weapons with a little more care.

The rope they wrapped around their wrists was pulled tight, another rope looped between all three pairs before running back to their ringleader. "Are you going to say it?" he asked, sounding almost curious.

Link rolled his eyes. "Take me to your leader," he muttered, trying to give Sheik and Naziya reassuring looks - if the leader knew of Eldir's importance, then the young king would undoubtedly be nearby.

And then all they had to do was escape alive. (Or, well - not any more dead than Sheik was already.)

The march was hardly the pinnacle of fun. The slopes were rough, spears poking them in the back to keep them walking, the ropes around their wrists uncomfortably tight. No matter how Link wriggled, he couldn't free them - the two Sheikah seemed to be doing little better, although Naziya's hands bore red rope burn from where she was clearly trying.

And to add insult to injury, Link was busy cursing himself - how had he failed to notice the men waiting for them? How had he not noticed the archers? These were fundamental mistakes - he felt like a fool.

Eldir had been right - the chamber they were being forced in to did belong to their leader - seated on a throne before them, a heavy metal mask covering his features, gauntlets and greaves covering hands and legs. A thick black cloak covered much of his body - Link had the brief amused thought that he'd probably be uncomfortably warm in all that get up.

The man on the throne raised a hand then gestured, and the three prisoners were abruptly shoved to their knees. And then the men simply left, leaving the three of them with the leader of the army that was preparing to hold Hyrule to ransom. This was the man who owned the army who had killed Sheik, the one who had indirectly forced Zelda into a sleep lost in time - under his command, good men had died.

Link stared back fearlessly, trying not to let any of his uncertainty show. But it was Sheik who spoke first.

"Will you show yourself now? There's no point hiding any more," he said tiredly, and Link nearly gave himself whiplash turning to stare at him. The resignation in Sheik's voice - had he known this would happen? Did he know who was under the mask?

A leaden weight settled in his chest. Then... was Sheik a traitor?

The man in the mask didn't move immediately. Finally, though, a sigh rushed through the mouth piece - younger and more recognisable than Link would have anticipated, the gauntleted hands rising to lift off the mask to reveal...

Head bowed, grief and guilt written all over his face, hair disheveled, dark shadows beneath his eyes, the man beneath the mask was none other than the good King Eldir.

For just a moment, Link thought his heart stopped.

Eldir was behind the impending war. Then all of it - the raids, the deaths, Sheik dying - had he known, then? And possibly even Zelda being cursed...

It was all his fault.

"But I trusted you," he said hollowly, vaguely aware of Naziya dropping her head into her hands in his peripheral vision. Sheik... well, he couldn't even look at him, right now.

"And look where it got you," Eldir told them unsteadily, dragging off one of his gauntlets and raking a hand through his hair. "I only did what I had to do. But..."

And suddenly, Link was shouting. "What you had to do? People are _dead_ because of you! What could possibly be so important that - and Sheik! Because of your fucking war, look at what happened to him and to Kula and to _your own sister_!"

Eldir laughed, and suddenly the laugh had turned into choked sobs. "You think I don't know? I only meant to get it from her - I never meant this, I never..." His hand tightened in his hair, white-knuckled and shaking. "Sheik, I release you."

For a moment, Sheik was motionless. And then he screamed - not the grief and horror he had shown at Kula's death, but fury, bright and white and burning. Tearing his hands out of the ropes, he raced for the king, drawing his fist back to strike him as hard as he could, over and over, all his anger pouring out against his target.

And Eldir took the punishment, head bowed and cringing from the blows. "I'm sorry," he finally whispered, and Sheik stumbled back as if he had been slapped, crumpling to the floor.

"'I'm sorry' won't bring Kula back to life," he hissed, trembling. "Or me. 'I'm sorry' doesn't make up for what you've done to my family!"

By now, Naziya had managed to slip her hands free, pulling a knife out of her boot and cutting Link free as well. Hesitating only briefly, he crossed the floor to where Sheik was crumpled, kneeling beside him. "Explain, Eldir," he told him darkly, "And give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."

And Eldir dropped his head into his palm, and began to weep.

"I was greedy," he choked, "And a fool. My father - he had the Triforce. On his death bed, he told Zelda where it was. He didn't tell me! His heir, his son!" With his still-gauntleted hand, he smacked the arm of the throne - it nearly splintered beneath it. "I'd start a war. I'd pressure her in to telling me - I'd tell her that I _had_ to have it. I would save Hyrule! I would scatter these pathetic soldiers and rule Hyrule myself for an eternity!"

Head rolling on his shoulders, he fixed his gaze on Sheik. "I told him everything, and I swore him to never breathe a word of it. Even past death - he knew everything. He knew I had sent him in to danger as a diversion. He knew that there was no one in the forest and that we'd see an army. He was supposed to learn of the army and return - but instead, he died. It was a good opportunity to make him one of _them_ \- he wasn't too damaged."

And this time, it was Sheik's turn to laugh hollowly. "And even with all your manipulations, I'll still eventually get what I want."

Eldir stared at him, then shook his head. "I did too. I knew the brother would mourn. I told him he had died on Zelda's orders. If he got the Triforce from her, we could bring him back. I never had any intention to do so."

Sheik stilled, gazing at him expressionlessly.

"Instead, she had no Triforce, and this war was on false pretenses. The fool killed her and told me what happened, and he fled, and..." His hands tightened on the throne. "My sister is dead because of my greed. How can I possibly return?!"

"She's not dead," Link said quietly, and Eldir raised his head disbelievingly. "Kula only cursed her. She's locked in time - sleeping."

Slowly, disbelievingly, he nodded. "Then... should I go back?" he asked hoarsely, "I will set things right... all this will pass..."

And Sheik rose to his feet. Slowly, he walked to Eldir - and then he reached out to strike him across the face, face expressionless. "That's for forcing me to keep secrets." Another blow. "That's for Zelda's curse." And another. "That's for killing my brother." And another, so hard that Eldir's head rolled. "And that's for killing me. It will never be right again."

And then he simply walked back, slumping down against Link.

Eldir was motionless for a moment, then nodded, eyes closing. "I will get you out," he told grimly. "But then all of Hyrule will be in danger. Because..." And he started to laugh. "Because even without their beloved leader, there are nearly a thousand angry men who want to see Hyrule burn. And if their leader betrays them... then that will magnify their hate into a mighty beast."

Slamming his hands against the throne, he leaned forward, hair tumbling in front of his face, eyes wide and mad. "No matter what we do... Hyrule... will fall!"


	11. With A Little Help From My Friends

The escape was narrow at best. Eldir had resumed the guise of their masked leader, brought his men back in, had told them that he had discovered information - which he would share with the council as soon as he took them out the back so he could execute them himself.

Instead, he had returned their weapons, released their bonds, and led them to a system of caves running through the valley, one which he said emerged close to Castle Town. It was how they had approached during the failed earlier raid, and one they were to make use of again for the final battle - once they had passed through it, they would have the tunnel blocked permanently.

Somehow. Link was beginning to realise that without trade with the Gorons, the Hylians didn't have any bombs.

It was a silent, subdued little group that emerged near Castle Town, the four of them trekking the remaining distance. Eldir, who had ditched his armour (but not the cloak) somewhere in the tunnel, kept his back straight and his eyes forward, the town at midnight almost deserted but the few that remained all too eager to show their adoration. Link simply held on to Sheik's hand, ignoring the whispers and comments as they returned to the castle.

The general air at the castle was quite different - here, Eldir was openly questioned about his non-appearance, where his sister was, why he looked the way he did. Eldir didn't respond to them either, speaking only to the leader of the Castle Guard - and that was only to mention that he had had gone on a mission for information and would brief him after he had visited his sister.

And then he had headed to the little room that Zelda was laid out in, dropping in to the seat beside the bed, and reaching for one of her hands. "Forgive me," he whispered hoarsely, and Link and Sheik beat a tactical retreat.

"Bed," Link murmured, a hand between Sheik's shoulder blades. "We'll work things out in the morning."

Sheik hesitated, then nodded. He had barely spoken since he had struck Eldir at the desert fortress, and the trip back to Link's room was no different - exhaustion was written over his face, exhaustion and grief.

Back in the sanctuary of his own room, Link shut the door behind him, then turned to pull Sheik in to an embrace. "I don't blame you for hating him," he murmured, entwining his fingers through Sheik's hair, "Because I do as well. For what he did to you -" His voice cracked. "And to Zelda, and to your brother. But there's a war coming, and if anyone is going to survive, we have to work with him."

Sheik didn't answer immediately, instead nodding and pulling himself out of Link's arms, crossing over to the bed and starting to strip off. "I want to kill him," he finally said, voice curiously calm. "I swore my life to him when I was fourteen. I died to protect him. Now I want to see him die at my hand."

Link winced, taking a careful step forward. "Sheik -"

"I won't, though," the Sheikah continued, sounding really very tired. "When Zelda wakes up, I don't want to tell her I stole her brother away like he stole mine." Dragging a night shirt on, he crawled in to bed, and Link quietly began undressing himself. "When all this is over, I'll demand to him that he ensures my parents are taken care of for the rest of their lives. It's the least he can do for stealing their children."

Pulling his own night shirt on, Link nodded, slipping beneath the covers and wrapping his arms around Sheik's middle. Thrice, why couldn't he and Sheik stay this way forever? Just the two of them, the outside world insignificant and unnecessary.

But outside, there was a war brewing, and Sheik was running on limited time. For a moment, Link gave himself time to despise Eldir, then sighed and buried his face against Sheik's shoulder. "I love you," he murmured, clinging to him - unspoken but still present were the words he couldn't say. _Don't leave me..._

Sheik sighed softly, turning in Link's embrace so their foreheads rested together. " _Ana sadir amah,_ " he murmured, and Link didn't need to understand Sheikah to know what those three words meant.

 

 

This time, the meeting in the war room was a little different.

There was no Zelda to sit at Eldir's side, and no Sheikah protector on his other. Instead, Sheik and Naziya sat with Link, Naziya subdued and anxious, Sheik simply silent. Steadily, Eldir told the generals and leaders the story he had fabricated that morning - that he had been sent an anonymous tip detailing aspects of the enemy's plans that he couldn't have found out from the earlier battle, that he had ridden out to investigate and to meet with the aforementioned traitor.

Now, they had precise numbers. They had precise locations, and a number of techniques and formations that they would be using. The passage through the mountains was of great concern - as it stood, they had little permanent way to stop it.

This was the point that Link spoke up, raising his hand like a child. "I think we need the Gorons for this," he said awkwardly, "Since they have explosives. If you give me permission to go up the mountain, I can talk to them."

One of the generals frowned. "They're not fond of outsiders," he pointed out, and Link nodded.

"I know. I've dealt with them before when I was, uh, travelling." (It had unanimously been decided when he had first arrived that it'd be a bad idea to explain that he was from the future.)

Eldir frowned at him thoughtfully, then nodded. "Permission granted. Will you require any equipment?"

Link shook his head, settling back in relief. "No, just my sword and shield is enough." The Master Sword could take care of anything - and the shield he had been granted from the armoury was nearly as strong as the Mirror Shield he had had in the future.

"I'll go with you," Sheik murmured from beside him, and Link nodded once. He certainly wouldn't mind the company - and if the Sheikah and the Gorons were on good terms, then that could be a plus in their favour.

Elbow on the table and chin in his hand, Link listened with detachment as they continued discussing their tactics and ideas. But curiously, it was to him that Eldir kept glancing at - finally, the King raised a hand to silence his generals' bickering and looked to Link.

"Link, you have proven yourself to be adept in battle and a great leader - the men you led in to the forest praised you highly." Link winced a little - he was sure that wasn't true, given how he had effectively abandoned them, leaving Mido to guide them out again. "If you are willing, I would like you to be the one to lead us in to the final confrontation."

Link stilled, even as Sheik whirled around to stare at him. "Why me?" he asked softly, the paranoid part of his brain - the part that had been necessary to survive another war - wondering idly if Eldir was planning on killing off everyone who knew what he had done.

Eldir met his gaze evenly. "Because I trust you."

For another long moment, Link was silent. Then, finally, he nodded again.

Perhaps he'd die in battle. Sheik's future was written in stone, but his was still malleable clay. Idly, he wondered what would happen if he died four hundred years before he was ever born - would his soul be laid to rest, or would he wander eternally? When Sheik's life faded away again, would they see each other again?

Or would he be lost to time itself? The Hero of Time, doomed to eternally wander its halls and hollows, never to rest or to find peace.

As the meeting came to an end and he rose silently to his feet, Link couldn't help but wonder if he was destined to see Hyrule's dying days.

 

 

They had set out at midday, once again sharing a horse for the short trip to Kakariko. Certainly, they could have warped - but Link wasn't sure he wanted to bring back unpleasant memories for Sheik, certainly had no interest in seeing the temple again.

As a precaution in case they had become separated, Sheik had brought his lyre, Link teaching him the Prelude of Light (and oh, wasn't that an interesting reversal?) so that he could swiftly escape danger if it became necessary. He had his ocarina with him as well - it was never out of his reach, if he could help it.

The horse slowed as they approached Kakariko - Link and Sheik dismounted, and Link hitched it up to a nearby tree. (He couldn't help but feel bad about it - oh, he missed Epona, and being able to let her run free as she wanted.) Then it was back to the hidden staircase - and then back to the village.

Link knew they had to move fast - Sheik had stilled as they had emerged, gazing blankly at the well, and Link tugged at his hand. He had to get him away from there, to distract him, to keep him focused on the task to come and not on how his brother had been murdered. For a long while, he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it - but finally, Sheik stopped shaking, stood up straighter, and followed Link back up the path (carefully avoiding his old house, as well).

The Sheikah guard at the gate, at least, was a fair bit friendlier than the one from Link's time. It probably helped that neither he nor Sheik were children, and it wasn't a little girl's note demanding that Link be able to save the world - the official letter with the king's seal on it was given a careful look-over, then the guard nodded and opened the gate.

Not once did he actually look at Sheik. Well, Link would do enough looking for the both of them.

Ignoring the screech of the gate closing behind them, Link took a few steps up the path, then closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. He did like the mountain - it had been a place to retreat to, to watch the sun rise, to spend time with Gorons who didn't mind if he didn't feel like a conversation.

And indeed, it was peaceful, even if things weren't quite the same any more. Dodongo's Cavern saw a constant flow of activity, Gorons filing in and out. Thumps and rumbles rang down the mountainsides as Gorons went tumbling down the slopes, and the usual tektite population seemed unusually thinned out to Link's eyes. The Hylian and the Sheikah, rather softer and squishier, were largely ignored as they made their way up the path to the city.

He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Certainly, Gorons were usually friendly, but they weren't actually talkative at the best of times, unless one deliberately roused one. And even then, they weren't making any overtly aggressive gestures, something for which Link was rather grateful about.

Outside the city, they had paused, Link guiding Sheik to a cliff edge, a low fence the only thing between them and a rather large drop. Still, it wasn't the drop he wanted to show him - it was the view. "Look," he grinned, gesturing out - an expanse of red rock, a small oasis of green that marked the village, and an even wider sea of it beyond that. "You can see all the way down to the field - I think that's Castle Town, there."

Sheik had actually smiled. That, in Link's mind, was progress.

Smiling in return, he wrapped an arm around Sheik's waist. "Have you met Gorons before?" he asked idly, "You said your people spoke to them..."

"Once or twice," Sheik said with a nod. "It was mostly the diplomats who spoke to them... I've mostly seen them from afar." Squaring his shoulders with a sigh, he glanced towards the entrance of the city. "Should we go?"

Link nodded, giving him another quick squeeze before leading the way in to the city. That, at least, hadn't changed much over the centuries - there was the same music, the same murals on the walls, the same ever-present thump and rumble as Gorons rolled down slopes.

Letting Sheik gaze around in fascination, Link immediately made his way to the nearest Goron. With a familiar, "Hooom?" he sat up, blinking his round eyes at him curiously.

"Hi, brother," Link said with a smile, keeping his body language nice and relaxed. "Would we be able to talk to the Chief?"

He blinked up at him again, then finally rumbled, "I'll go and ask Big Brother," and tucked himself back into the neat ball. Link stepped back hastily, catching Sheik's arm to get him out of the firing range, and the Goron rolled off, picking up speed in a matter of seconds.

There was pain on Sheik's face, and Link winced. Suddenly, taking someone who had just lost his brother to a society that largely favoured brotherhood didn't seem like such a good idea.

"When we get there," the Sheikah said suddenly, "Let me talk at first. They might be wary about you... you're a Hylian. You can explain the details."

"Sounds like a plan," Link said with a faint smile, gazing around at the city. "It looks so similar..."

Sheik nodded slowly, still taking in the details. "Will I ever come here?"

Good question. Link simply shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know - you teach me the Bolero in the crater." Suddenly, he grinned. "It was kind of amusing - the first three times I saw you, I didn't know if you were real. You seemed sort of... like a fairy, I guess."

Sheik made a fairly disgruntled noise, and Link quickly clarified - "I mean, sort of magical. Then I saw you here, and you were all sweaty." He grinned a bit at the stare Sheik was giving him. "It was kind of nice - seeing that you were just a person like me."

And then he stifled a snicker. Sheik looked a little like a cat who had just fallen off a chair and was now busily licking himself like he had meant to do that. "And of course, seeing me sweat produced nothing but amusement and empathy," he said dryly, and now it was Link's turn to look awkward.

"Well, it was kind of nice -" he started, then stopped short as a Goron (the one from earlier? It was hard to tell) rolled back up to them.

"You can go see him, brothers!" he announced, turning his entire body to face Sheik. "Mister Sheikah, you talk to him first! Both of you follow me!"

And he rolled off again, the two hard-pressed to keep up. Soon enough, though, they reached the familiar room at the bottom of the city, an entirely different rug on the floor - Link glanced down at it as Sheik was ushered through, reasonably wrong-footed.

Inside, he could just hear the introductions. "Thank you for meeting us, _shikalifha_ ," Sheik was saying politely.

The answering voice wasn't Darunia's. Somehow, he hadn't quite expected a new voice to be answering, "Our honour, Sheikah-goro."

Well, of course it wouldn't be, he scolded himself. Darunia hadn't even been born yet.

The wait seemed to be stretching out longer and longer. Link fidgeted, bored with waiting - he tapped his feet, adjusted his belt, looked around the room in curiosity. One of the Gorons was gazing back at him in fascination - he waved a little, and it promptly curled in to a ball again. No shop, he realised idly - well, the room was still there, but like others he could see from his position, it looked more residential.

Finally, Sheik poked his head back out the door. "You can see him now," he murmured, whispering, "He seems a little hot-tempered, so make sure you stay polite," as Link reached him. Link nodded, taking a steadying breath as he entered.

Oh, what he wouldn't do to see Darunia again...

 

 

Well, that had been successful enough. Link was smiling as he and Sheik made their way out - a large shipment of bombs would be delivered to Kakariko the next day, one of their explosives experts to accompany them to the tunnel. There'd be enough to blow up a stretch of the tunnel as long as a street, and plenty more to use in the battle itself.

Additionally - and this was the part that Link was the most pleased about - the Goron leader had suggested that he could send some of his best fighters on to the battlefield with them. Admittedly, Gorons were largely unarmed brawlers, more of a focus on subduing an enemy than killing, and there would only be a few - but it was really quite difficult to kill a stone.

It was at the top of Goron City that Link paused, gazing down a familiar passageway. Distantly, he could hear music - fairies, Kokiri, Skull Kids, a merry tune filtering in from the Lost Woods. Link paused thoughtfully - then grabbed Sheik's hand and hauled him down it.

"Where are we going?" Sheik asked, startled.

"To get some extra help!" Link told him with a grin - the end of the tunnel was near, and through it was a forest.

And in that forest, if they could find it... was help.

 

 

For all of Sheik's glaring, he mostly just looked like a wet cat.

Link was grinning as they walked (well - squelched) their way back down the mountain path, earning a startled double-take from the probably rather astonished Sheikah guard. He let them back in without another word, his forehead furrowed.

"How did you...?" he started, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Okay, you do have a way with people," Sheik finally conceded, too busy berating Link to take much notice of his old house or the well, "But you were still very reckless. What if they had decided to skewer us?"

Link shrugged, patting his ocarina. "We could have warped out?"

"And caused a major diplomatic incident!"

"Yeah, but it _worked_ , didn't it?"

"Barely."

Link grinned suddenly. "You're just lucky the princess only wanted a kiss on the cheek."

Sheik glared at him. "She had _scales_. And, well, smelt like fish."

Link was too busy laughing to give much of a reply.

Evening was settling fast as they emerged on to the field. Their borrowed horse, snorting gently as she spotted them, was still where they had left her - Sheik busied himself with untying her, and Link reached up to offer her a carrot left over from their lunch. "Do you really think this will work?" Sheik asked a little more softly, eyebrows raised as Link swung himself in to the saddle and helped him up too. "Ech - you're sodden."

"So are you," Link pointed out, then nodded, serious for once. "Yeah. They stand to lose a lot as well if these guys win - do you really think they'd stop with just Hyrule? They'd start to expand, and just by themselves, they wouldn't stand a lot of a chance. But with Hylians and Sheikah, _and_ Gorons, _and_ Zoras, _and_ Deku shrubs? Then maybe we'll actually win."

And that was the other thing. When had he started thinking about this battle as 'we' instead of 'they'? Like it or not, he was now intimately involved - his gaze lingered on Sheik for a moment, the banter and discussion almost erasing the events of the past days from his mind.

"...Let's go home," he murmured, urging the horse in to gear. And Sheik, who no longer had one, simply looked up at him then nodded.

Home was what they made of it - and right now, Link's home was with Sheik.

 

 

Starting awake from a dream was not Link's favourite way to wake up.

He gazed up at the ceiling sightlessly, a frown across his face - the battle scene was pretty clear-cut, but what he had been doing in it - now that was different. The Master Sword was a familiar presence in his hand, but...

Behind him, Sheik was stirring, grumbling at being jolted by Link's awakening. "Whuzza matter?" he slurred, and Link resisted the urge to grin - a maskless, shirtless, sleep-rumpled Sheik was something very few people would ever see.

"I had a dream," he murmured, turning to face him. "It was kind of weird - I was in battle, but I had two Master Swords, and I could do all these things with them."

Sheik frowned, now looking a little more awake. "Do you think it was prophetic?" he asked curiously.

Link shrugged. "Maybe. You remember when we went to the temple right after I arrived, right? Well, I felt something really weird there - like the air was rippling and distorting."

"Perhaps it was a side effect from the same powerful object from different time frames being in proximity," Sheik mused, rolling on to his back to stare at the ceiling. "It would be... interesting if you could control that."

Nodding, Link confirmed, "That was what it felt like in the dream. Like I was controlling this power..." He looked troubled. "Should I go to the temple in the morning?"

For a long moment, Sheik was silent. Then he murmured, "I think you should. Didn't you say you used to have dreams about that man's takeover? You may have some mild prophetic abilities."

That was more Zelda's thing, wasn't it? Still, he nodded, recalling the nightmares he had had over Hyrule's fall. "Yeah... I think I will."

"Good," Sheik murmured drowsily, and Link realised that he was near sleep again. "In the morning..."

And then there was silence again - but it took Link a long time to fall asleep.

 

 

They had waited until the temple was deserted before trying it.

Link had approached the altar with faltering footsteps, glancing back at Sheik uncertainly. Then it was behind him and he was starting for the final chamber itself, an empty sheath on his other hip, one hand on the Master Sword hilt that he possessed.

With every step, he began to feel the pressure - a fierce wind picking up, sending him stumbling backwards. Beneath his hand, the hilt was white hot, and there was a buzzing in his head that got louder and louder as he moved closer and closer.

And then his fingertips brushed the hilt of the other Master Sword and suddenly everything was silent.

No, not quite silent. There was a little girl's voice - curious, piping, calling out, "Who's there? Is someone there?"

The walls of the temple were fading, now, flowers sprouting, vines curling around the stone. Before him was a little girl, wide blue eyes watching him in fascination. He started.

She started back, then tilted her head in fascination. "Hello! I like your hat!"

A shaky smile crossed his face. He recognised her, didn't he? And then Impa stepped in to view, and that simply confirmed it. "Thank you," he said with a faint smile, although the words struggled to emerge from his lips.

Getting to her feet, she took an uncertain step towards him - then jumped when he heard a familiar voice call, "Link!"

Not letting go of the sword, he took a step back, and the world started to fade. "Link?" the little girl echoed, "Link? Where are you going? Where did you go?"

And then he was back in the temple, a Master Sword in each hand, and surprise written all over his face.

Because that hadn't been a vision or a dream or a hallucination. He had smelt the flowers, felt the sunlight on his face, seen the Princess Zelda he had first known as a child - in that moment, it had all been real for him.

He had found a way home.


	12. If I Fell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, character death.

There was an army approaching.

Link didn't move a muscle. He was a being of steel, solid of bearing and steady of arm. In each gloved hand, duplicate Master Swords crackled with time energy - a wind seemed to perpetually be blowing around him.

And he still didn't move.

As he watched the approaching army, though, inside, his thoughts were a whirl of regrets and apologies and memories. All too clearly, he could see the events of that morning - of Sheik, usually surefooted, stumbling as he had inspected their new troops, curiously pressing a hand to his heart before continuing to examine the newly enlisted soldiers.

Eldir had been particularly blunt when Link had asked him why. "A Shadow Guardian is brought back for one purpose - they don't have a lot of time in this world. He has only a limited amount of times his heart can beat - the more he walks around, the more he fights, the more he exerts himself, the closer he comes to death."

Link had felt his own heart begin to race when Eldir had said that. Flatly, he had forbidden Sheik to march with them to battle - besides, with Naziya enlisted to protect Eldir on the battle field, someone would have to stay with Zelda.

And Sheik had silently accepted it, still and calm and steady. Link was glad - calmness meant holding on for just a little longer.

But he still couldn't help but indulge himself with a goodbye kiss, dragging Sheik in to his arms, burying his face in his hair. "Stay alive for me," he whispered, clinging to him as if he was the last thing that kept him standing, "I want to see you once the battle's ended."

Sheik had simply watched as they had departed, fading out of sight as they rode on out to the field where they'd meet the army head on.

The tunnel had been blasted shut - Link had heard the boom and crash all the way from the castle. And that meant that the only way they could meet was in an honest battle - a battle that he would have to lead.

Behind him was Eldir and Naziya. Behind them were the generals and their battalions, swordsmen, archers, horsemen with spears. Nowhere to be seen were the promised Gorons or Zora or Deku shrubs - Link had been disappointed but not too surprised. Now, they would be hopelessly outnumbered instead of merely mostly outnumbered.

They had a secret weapon.

"Now," he whispered, and Eldir and Naziya reached forward to rest their hands on his shoulders. Behind him, he could hear rustles and clanks as every other man and woman behind him reached out to touch others.

Link lifted the Ocarina of Time to his lips, and the Song of Time ran out backwards.

Time slowed.

And so did their enemy.

"For Zelda," he whispered, "For Kula. And for Sheik." And he raised his swords high, voice ringing out over the battle field. "For Hyrule!"

And without a backwards glance, they charged.

 

 

Link hated war.

War was messy, brutal, painful. Good people died, bad people went unpunished for their misdeeds, combatants on both sides could lose limbs, senses, lives.

People innocent of combat could see loved ones cut down, children could be told that a beloved parent would never come home. Parents could see the lives of their offspring erased in days, hours, minutes. Families and communities and towns could be demolished.

For the sake of a usually-unobtainable ideal, worlds could be ruined.

Link had seen war. He had been ten years old when it had ripped apart Hyrule - a child soldier in a green hat, toy sword in one small hand. It had been an adventure, then - a race to get the spiritual stones, a game he would play with Zelda.

And then he had claimed the Master Sword. And the world he had awoken in was very, very different.

Now, it was no longer a game. It was no longer an adventure. Even without battles to tear apart the land and to tear apart the soldiers, the land was held locked in fear. The frightened inhabitants of Kakariko - for Kakariko was the only place left to go - pretended the world outside their walls was safe, but if they were to venture outside...

_Here there be dragons._

Castle Town was a casualty of war. It too had been torn apart - Link had never learnt where the ReDead inhabitants had come from, and he most assuredly did not want to know. Carrion-eaters, the guays, haunted the lake and the ranch. How could Malon sleep, knowing that the opportunistic birds circled her window every night?

A deserted city in the mountains, a frozen domain and a river rendered a shadow of its former self. Muddy water in a once-beautiful lake, flesh-consuming plants infesting the sunny forest groves he had grown up in. War had turned Hyrule in to a mockery of a land.

And then he had fixed things, and then he had left, and things had gone progressively worse.

Fear tore apart a land as much as a tyrant would. Fear, and curses, and doubt, civil war between family and between friends. He had seen the very best of people in Termina - and he had seen the very worst. He had seen courage and he had seen cowardice. He had succeeded, only to fail in the next three-day cycle - if he was to reunite Kafei and Anju, then Romani would be taken by Them. If he was to thaw the mountain out and restore spring, then Lulu would go voiceless.

It had taken Time itself to right things.

And now it was Time itself that he held now in his hands.

He crossed the swords, felt the crackle of power even more than he heard it, and flung them apart again - a wash of time energy flooded outwards, aging the half a dozen soldiers before him to dust in a matter of seconds. An outwards flick of the sword sent the unfortunate soul it struck back in time, striking dead his childless father - the man died before he was born, and thus could never be struck by Link's sword. An endless cycle of birth and death swirled faster and faster - until finally time itself intervened and plucked the man out of reality.

His father would live. He wouldn't.

In Link's hands, he held time. And it was time that destroyed the opposing army.

Some were easy, ones he could take on without guilt. An Iron Knuckle stumbled towards him - Link raised his swords high and reduced the living armour to scraps of rusted twisted metal. Others were not so easy - how could he, in good conscience, throw a man forward through time, make him age and whither? Was he married, did he have children? Would his parents mourn the loss of their son, had they been ignorant of his feelings towards Hyrule or would they consider him a martyr for the cause?

And yet Link didn't stop. He couldn't stop - the alternative meant Hyrule falling. They had chosen to join this army, he told himself, they had deliberately moved not just against the Royal Family, but against every man, woman, and child, every Hylian, Sheikah, and Kokiri, every Goron and Zora, every Gerudo and Deku shrub, every living being that called Hyrule home.

So he continued to cut them down, and he ignored the tears streaming down his face.

Link hated war.

 

 

They were losing. Even with time slowed down for their enemies, even with Link being able to destroy a battalion before they were even born, they were outnumbered by nearly two to one.

The numbers were roughly even, now. But Hyrule's army was tiring - they had been fighting long and hard, and even as more of the enemy were cut down, they were cut down in kind.

The inverted Song of Time had begun to run dry. The movements of their enemies had begun to speed up, closer and closer to normal until they had once again moved through time like time had intended.

Link's own movements were slowing. Sluggish, shaking from adrenaline and pain and exhaustion, bleeding from a dozen wounds, he swept one sword in an arc and encountered flesh, the other coming down to erase his opponent before he had ever been struck.

He had been backed in to a corner, then. Behind him was a cliff face, in front of him was a crowd of enemies, circling closer, wanting nothing more than to spill the blood of the one who had taken so many of their comrades. Link stepped back, found himself pressed against stone, and was forced to his knees by the man who had confronted them in the desert, his bulk eclipsing the sun for him.

One of the swords clattered out of his hand.

"Not so tough now, are you, brat?" he grinned, sword at Link's throat, kicking at his right hand - the other sword spun out as well, and Link found himself quite defenseless.

"We'll beat you," Link told him tiredly. "Doesn't matter what you'll do to me. You'll still lose, and you'll never understand why."

The blow the man gave him made Link see stars, scrunching his eyes shut against the pain. And then he forced his eyes open, forced himself to stare up at him, defiant to the end.

"Right," he snarled, and raised his sword arm high. "Any last words?"

And suddenly, there was a sword sticking through the man's prominent gut.

He gurgled, turned purple, and collapsed to the side, and suddenly a slim bandaged hand was thrust in front of his face.

"Get up," Sheik urged quietly, "Get your swords back. They're coming - the Gorons and the Zora and the Deku shrubs - the tide is turning."

Link gazed up at him, at the bloodied sword in his other hand, at the combat uniform and the knives he wore openly on his hips. "I thought I told you not to come," he whispered, taking Sheik's hand as he stumbled to his feet, gathering up his swords again.

The rest of the circle was gone, cut down by Sheik's blade, by rolling Gorons and bladed Zora fins. He gazed around uncertainly, then swallowed and straightened up.

"Mm... well," Sheik shrugged, not meeting Link's eyes. "You saved my life once - I thought I'd return the favour."

Link stared at him for a moment longer, then dropped his gaze. "You better not die," he whispered, then readied the swords again.

"I'll try to avoid it," Sheik murmured, gazing out at the battlefield. "We're close to winning now, though. Only a few hundred left, and the Gorons and Zora aren't tired."

Nodding, Link followed his gaze - he could well remember the sheer power in a Goron's body, spikes protruding as they mowed down enemies. He could remember the swiftness and grace of a Zora. Perhaps, then, there'd be hope.

"Let's go," he said quietly, and the two returned to the battle.

He just hoped it wouldn't be Sheik's last.

 

 

Twenty-seven prisoners of war, nine hundred and eight dead on the enemy's side. Six hundred and fifty-two Hylians, forty-one Sheikah, twenty-nine Gerudo, one hundred and eighty six Moblins, Lizalfos, and Dinolfos.

And on their side, two hundred and twenty Hylians, seventeen Zoras, and one Goron.

They had come out the better for it, yes. The army had been felled. And Link thought he was going to be ill - especially when they picked up the chant, "Hail Link, the Hero of Time!"

It was a long march home. The generals had offered to take care of clean-up duty, members of their battalions now a workforce to gather the bodies of their comrades. An exhausted Eldir had been duly sent back to the castle - no one but his three companions knew that this had been a war of his making, that he had slain men that he had once commanded.

And no one spoke of it.

Naziya, sporting a broken arm, trudged alongside the king. Behind them, Link and Sheik followed - arms around each other's shoulders, supporting each other as they walked. They had fought side by side, comrades in a war neither should have been in, and now all Link wanted to do was crawl in to bed with him and sleep for a month.

And then Sheik's steps faltered and stopped.

Link spun around, feeling Sheik's arm slip away as he dropped to his knees. He was pale, wide-eyed, shaking - one hand was pressed against his chest, where his remaining heartbeats were fast trickling away.

"Sheik," he whispered, voice cracking. "No -"

And when the ground rose up to meet the Sheikah, Link was there to catch him.

Eldir and Naziya had both stopped at the sound of his name - Eldir had gazed at him, apology written over his face, and Naziya had simply... turned away. Perhaps she had seen too much - the death of a comrade was something else she couldn't possibly bear.

Because, almost before his very eyes, Sheik was fading.

"Don't go," he whispered, vision swimming as his eyes filled with tears. "Sheik - please, we won, we... don't go..."

Sheik met his gaze evenly, no fear in his eyes even as he shivered in Link's arms. "S'too late," he said softly, "Every beat of my heart takes me away... I'm glad I spent my last beats with you." Reaching up with a shaking hand, he dragged the mask down, smiling crookedly. "I don't regret a thing."

"But I do," Link whispered, "You could have stayed safe -"

"And if you had died, my heart would have broken, regardless," he murmured, "Now, you get to live out your whole life."

But he didn't. And Link couldn't have stopped his own heart breaking if he had tried. "But..."

"Hail Link, my Hero for all Time. Link, I'll see you again," he smiled, reaching up to cup Link's cheek, to trace the lines and angles of his face. "I look forward to it."

"But I won't see you again!" Link didn't care if he was making a scene, didn't care of Eldir or Naziya or any of their comrades in arms stared. "That's in my past - I'll never get to see you again!" His words were choked off, shaking his head fiercely.

Sheik merely gazed up at him, his words even softer now, like they themselves lacked substance. "Then... I promise you... we will see each other again. I swear it. I promise. I promise..."

He reached up, wrapping his arms around Link's shoulders, head tucked beneath Link's chin. And Link clung on - held to him like he was more precious than the very air he breathed, more precious than the sun or the moon or water or rain.

And then he was holding nothing more than air, and Link's eyes closed.

In retrospect, he'd be grateful for Eldir's and Naziya's silence. Link knelt there, silent and motionless, hands dropping to his lap and his head bowed. Not once did he open his eyes - if he did, he'd have to face reality, see for himself that Sheik wasn't there waiting for him, that he truly was gone.

Never again would he touch him. Never again would he lift his head to catch a smile in his eyes, warmth that Link could see even with half his face covered. Never again would they play music together, lyre and ocarina in a dazzling duet, playing long in to the night until tiredness took them.

There would be no more sneaking off after dinner, or feather-light brushes of fingers beneath the table at boring meetings. There'd be no more stories or songs or long hours spent simply enjoying each other's company.

Never again could he watch a sunrise without memories of him - a welcome figure at the lake, a warm body curled up against his with only a sheet around them, a divine creature in his arms as the sun painted him gold.

Never again would he fall asleep gazing at his face and wake up with him in his arms.

It hurt so much he could barely breathe.

Link screamed - a primal howl that tore at his throat, hands clutching blades of grass that may as well have been steel, slicing in to his fingers, his face a sodden mess from the tears that had started and simply wouldn't stop.

And then he had simply turned and walked away, allowing the night to swallow him whole.

 

 

It had taken a sunrise to urge him back.

It had been the island he had fled to, curled up under the tree, gazing up at the living branches. Four hundred years from now, it would be dead and Sheik would be alive - he hated his younger self, hated him for not knowing what he was going to lose, envied him for the same reason.

He had searched for him for eight years, only to have him back for a few short months. And now what? He'd return home and Sheik would still be dead. Unless Zelda would be willing to bring him back - and even then, it would only be for months - he'd never see him again.

Gazing at the sun rising over the lake, he remembered a young man in blue who had come to see him for no reason other than himself. There had been no songs at the lake, no stories, no more poetry.

Just the two of them.

They had argued at the docks, then. Had Sheik received a glimpse of the future, then? Had he suspected, even then, that he'd seek someone out for love and not for duty?

Sheik had died so that he would live. If he didn't honour that choice, then he was no better than the one who had killed him in the first place.

And so he had walked away, had held the ocarina in his hands and returned to the Temple of Time, the two swords in their twin scabbards silent at his hips as he turned his back on the waiting pedestal and returned to the castle.

They were leaving, Naziya told him quietly as he lingered at the doorway. Far away was another castle, and it was in that castle that Zelda would be laid to rest - until the day came that someone could break the spell. And they would be the custodians of that knowledge - from Royal Family member to Royal Family member, from Sheikah guardian to Sheikah guardian.

One day, she would live once more, and open her eyes on an entirely different world. But until that day came, she would rest, locked in magical slumber, ageless and unchanging and forever young.

Past the mountains they had travelled, north over snowy ranges, past harbours and swamps and plains. Their destination was a territory of Hyrule's, an abandoned corner of the world that most knew little of. But a castle stood here, and a tower, and there, the princess could be laid to rest.

They had dressed her in finery, set her on the stone, folded pale hands over her heart. For a long while, Naziya lingered - then, finally, she brushed the tips of her fingers against her hands and stood to leave.

Within the protected walls of the tower of the North Castle, she would never whither and never die. She could lie there for an eternity before her eyes would open again - but it would not be them to whom they would open to.

So they had returned.

It had been Eldir who had addressed the populace, bending and weaving the truth as he described how Hyrule's beloved princess had been a victim of the war, struck down by a hateful enemy. Hyrule would mourn her, as they would mourn their fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and family.

The grief in his voice was very real as he told them how she would not be forgotten. He would name his first-born daughter after her, would grant the name to every girl of the Royal Family - Zelda would become a legend, a girl who had sacrificed everything for her country.

The Legend of Zelda would not be forgotten.

The ceremony to swear Naziya in as Eldir's new protector was short and succinct. He had needed a protector; she had needed someone to protect. Perhaps, when Link hadn't been looking, her hatred had turned in to pity. Perhaps she was simply a more forgiving person than Link was.

Perhaps it was time for him to leave.

They had accompanied him to the Temple of Time, the king and his new protector. It had only recently been emptied - if Link listened closely, he could still hear the prior inhabitants filtering away, chatting and laughing as they strode through the gardens. How soon they had forgotten tales of death - Zelda's memory was nothing but that.

"Travel safely," Naziya murmured, reaching up for an impromptu hug. "Say hi to your Zelda for me."

Link smiled faintly, nodding. "I will," he murmured, then turned back to Eldir.

Eldir exhaled slowly, holding a hand out for him. "You've taught me much," he murmured, bowing his head to him. "May the Goddesses bless your days."

"May the Goddesses forgive yours," he returned quietly, then turned and started up the steps to the pedestal.

And he closed his eyes, the ancient sword balanced above it. Time flowed around him, through him - behind his closed eyes, he saw a world changed and shaped by war and peace, by bright days and cold nights, by the guidance of a King, a Queen, a Prince, a Princess.

And when he opened them again, blue time energy dissipating and fading, it was to see a princess waiting for him with open arms.


	13. Here Comes The Sun

Link, gazing at Zelda, the Zelda he had known for eight years, didn't understand.

"I'm - back? In my own time?" he asked uncertainly, glancing down at the sword whose hilt his hand still rested on. Back in the stone, then - he had returned the sword to the stone four hundred years ago, and it had been returned in kind in time time, in this place.

"You are," she murmured, and held out a hand. "Come with me - we'll talk outside. I..." Zelda glanced away, shame on her face. "I owe you an explanation."

Link remembered the sight of Sheik's pale face and nodded. "Yeah, you do," he said softly, and followed her out, leaving the Master Sword in its pedestal - back where it belonged.

Zelda collected the stones again, the great door closed, and the two made their leave - emerging in to the sun, Link blinked on instinct, shading his eyes. "How long has it been?"

"Just a few hours," she told him, leading him to the gardens that sat behind the temple. "You made your way back with remarkable precision - you could have ended up days or weeks in the future."

Link smiled, but it wasn't a happy one. "What's a few weeks after four hundred years?" he sighed, flopping down on a fallen log - daintily, Zelda joined him.

There was awkward silence for a moment, and then Zelda sighed. "I've kept things from you," she murmured unhappily, "And I'm sorry. But... I promise that if you ask me anything, I'll answer them honestly. I swear it."

Nodding, Link frowned for a moment, then turned back to her. "I have two questions. Did you send be back to that time deliberately?"

"Yes, I did."

"And... did you know what would happen there?"

This time, there was a brief moment of silence before she sighed, softly confirming, "Yes, I did."

Link nodded, gazing out at the garden. "Then I have a third question," he said, and his voice sounded hollow. "Why?"

That one, Zelda couldn't answer immediately. Link frowned sharply, turning back to berate her for not answering his questions as promised, then promptly stopped - her eyes had filled with tears. "Because he asked me to," she whispered, and all desire to shout or accuse abruptly fled. "He told me everything. And... even through all the hurt, even though you'd lose him... he told me that for a little while, you'd be happy. And you had sacrificed so much... I thought you deserved a little happiness."

Nodding slowly, Link looked away, gazing at his boots like they were the most fascinating things in the world. He had been, hadn't he? Even though it felt like his heart had been ripped in two when he had felt Sheik fade away, the times they had spent together were... precious.

And he never would have had them if it wasn't for Zelda.

"I was happy," he said softly, ignoring the way his eyes prickled. "I was. I would have stayed with him then, if I could."

Zelda nodded, and hesitantly reached across to take his hand. "So would have I, if it had been possible," she told him softly, and Link glanced up at her curiously.

She had known him as a Shadow Guardian, as a protector between life and death. But that still left one question - "How did it happen? You and him, I mean."

Exhaling, Zelda sat back, her gaze distant as she let herself delve back in to memory. "I was ten years old," she murmured, "And Ganondorf had made his move. My father was dead - I had seen the deed done before my eyes." Her voice choked, and Link squeezed her hand instinctively. "Impa had whisked me away - and I'm sorry we nearly trampled you." A wry smile was on her face.

Link gave her a proper, reassuring smile. "No worse than being charged by a Moblin," he teased, and Zelda huffed a laugh before continuing.

"Impa had taken me to the Shadow Temple and laid me out on the stone - yes, the same one he had woken up on," she confirmed, catching the look on Link's face.

"He was cremated there, too," he murmured.

Zelda cringed.

"Sorry," he told her awkwardly.

She shook her head, and continued on - although she did look a little more fraught at the idea. "I don't remember a great deal of the ritual - I was unbearably sleepy, I couldn't keep my eyes open. And it was cold... but I remember being in the dark, and there was a young man there with beautiful red eyes holding his hand out to me - and then I fell asleep, knowing that he'd protect me."

Now, there was a smile to go with her eyes shining with tears. "For a very long time, it was like that. I'd sleep, but occasionally, there'd be moments of lucidity. Three years after we had both fallen asleep, I began to awaken - and Sheik began to speak to me."

Link couldn't have interrupted as he tried. Wordlessly, he tried to urge her to go on.

"He didn't know who he was, at first," she continued softly. "Impa had merely told him that he would be my vessel and to protect me with his life - he remembered nothing but darkness and the River of the Dead. But I told him about the Hero of Time, about a little boy in green and his fairy. And he began to remember."

"How much?" he asked hoarsely, mouth feeling like sandpaper.

"Everything," she said quietly. "The village, his brother, being sworn to my ancestor, his friendship with my - I believe she's my great-great-great-great-great-aunt. He remembered dying - he remembered every life that came after, and how they had used him for their own purposes, and how he began to drift away from the world. And he remembered a day when he still lived when he pulled a young man in green out of a river and how he lost his heart."

Link was silent, merely watching and waiting to see what would come next.

"For four years, we debated it," she continued. "Because you had told him then, we knew what was to come - sending you back was only an idea I had had when I had awoken to find you were sealed within the Sacred Ream, but now it was locked in to time as a fact. And that meant that your being sent back was a fact, as well - I would have to send you back to your own time, then hold on to the knowledge of what was still to come for another eight years. I'm sorry." And she glanced up at him, shame and guilt on her face.

"So I summoned you back to the Temple. In a way, it was still the truth - there was a danger that you would need to pick up the sword for, it was just a danger long past. I willingly sent you back in time knowing that it would break your heart." Her hands tightened in the fabric of her dress. "Link, will you ever forgive me?" she choked.

And Link couldn't answer straight away. How could he? She had willingly sent him back so he could find love, and so he could lose him twice over. She had known he'd see Sheik at his most distraught and be utterly unable to comfort him, knew that he'd be forced to fight and kill for a war that wasn't his (except it was, wasn't it? He had fought for Sheik, for Zelda, for everyone he had met and befriended there), knew that he'd hold Sheik in his arms as death took him and felt his world end.

And she had known that he'd find joy and companionship and love, and an answer to the search he had been lost in for eight years.

"I forgive you," he said softly, and suddenly he had an armful of sobbing princess.

"I don't deserve it," she whispered, face buried against his shoulder. "I made you live through terrible things, even if it did mean having him back - I knew he'd be taken from you again, and yet I still sent you back. But you deserved love - he's so easy to fall in love with, and... you deserved a reward for your patience. But..." She sniffled. "I'm sorry."

Eyes closed, Link whispered, "It's okay," and finally she sat back.

There was silence for a little while, before finally Zelda asked softly, "If we brought him back now... would you want to?"

The question made him pause, wrong-footed him entirely. They could bring him back, and he'd see him again, and...

But it had been four hundred years and eight years and an hour and a lifetime ago. He could see him again, and he'd lose him again, and he wasn't sure if his heart could take another break.

"Let him rest," he whispered, and remembered Sheik's promise - that they would see each other again.

They'd find another way. Now, it was time for him to sleep - free of the use and abuse that the centuries had wrought.

She nodded, then took his hand again. "Come with me to the Shadow Temple," she murmured, "Even if we don't bring him back - we can still say goodbye."

He exhaled shakily, then nodded, lifting the ocarina he still held to his lips. Zelda grasped his arm gently, and the two let the music whisk them away to the temple that had haunted Link's dreams for days and weeks now.

It wasn't to the temple that Link had explored that they headed - instead, it was down a set of stairs, widening in to a spiral that Link recalled from the rites and rituals they had heard that first night they had been together.

Now, he could see more details. In the walls on the outer edge of the spiral, niches had been carved, names and dates and perhaps a short epitaph. The nearest was very close to the top of the spiral, the date of death less than twenty years earlier.

"It's a memorial to the dead," Zelda murmured softly, and gestured to where unburnt white candles were gathered. "Take as many as you want."

He took three.

Three hundred years passed under their footsteps. Link left and lit his first candle at the niche bearing Naziya's name, smiling when he read the dates - she had lived to be a hundred and ten, a long and content life. But she wasn't their final destination - on and on they went, another hundred years worth of names scrolling on by.

And finally, they came to a stop - two niches next to each other, two identical dates of birth, two dates of death only days apart.

For Kula, they both left candles. "He did it for love, too," Link murmured, gazing at the epitaph - _Son, brother, friend_. "He loved his brother so much that..."

He broke off, shaking his head, and turned to the niche that represented Sheik's life and his death. Just nineteen years, two sets of numbers, a name - Link reached up with a shaking hand, traced the letters that formed _Sahil_ , then lowered his gaze to the epitaph.

"Love knows not what time is," he murmured, and the faintest of smiles spread across his face. "I love you too. And - I always will. I'll see you again, Sheik."

Candles twinkling brightly to chase away the darkness, Link reached for Zelda's hand, and silently, the two left the temple - and their ghosts - behind.

 

 

Outside, it had started drizzling. Link rolled his shoulders, resting his hands on the fence as he gazed upwards, grateful for the coolness of the rain - used to the early winter of the past, the near summer he had returned to had been a shock.

"Come back to the castle with me," Zelda said softly as she joined him at the fence, "Rest for a while. You deserve a break. And if you'd like, and you don't have anything else to do, I wouldn't at all be opposed to you becoming my personal guard."

It did sound like a good idea - something to do, a way to protect his friend, a way to honour the other Zelda's memory. Finally, though, he shook his head, a faint smile on his face.

"I'm going to keep wandering," he murmured, gazing out at the graveyard and beyond. "See more of the world. Save girls from monsters." He grinned a little, his expression soft. "Maybe I'll start teaching people how to fight - the other Zelda was pretty good. Then, others can defend themselves as well."

Zelda nodded slowly - then, impulsively, she threw her arms around Link's shoulders. "Stay safe," she whispered, "Live well. Be happy."

And he smiled back, eyes closing. "I will. It's what he would have wanted, isn't it?"

They had left the graveyard, Link only looking back once to mouth a farewell. It was time to let the dead rest - he would keep on keeping on, and one day, he'd receive his just reward.

He deserved no less, after all.

At the drawbridge to Castle Town, he had called for Epona, then held the ocarina back out to Zelda. And Zelda had shaken her head, closing his hands around it.

"It's yours," she murmured, "It always had been. Remember your duets and playing on the roof top, and be happy."

She had waited until clattering hooves had approached, watching as Link petted and cosseted and murmured to Epona before swinging himself up in to the saddle. "Write to me some time!" she called, brushing back her damp hair as Link nodded solemnly. "Let me know how you're doing, alright?"

"I will. I won't forget you," he promised, gazing ahead.

Before Link was a road - a road in to the unknown, to an uncertain future, to days yet to come. A smile crossed his face, and Epona reared up on her hind legs, Link raising one hand in parting.

And without a backwards glance, he tore off in to the unknown.

 

 

It was dark.

Dark, and cold, and the only thing he could see was a flash of blue eyes - curious and unafraid, a little hand reaching out towards him. He reached towards it, and -

It was light.

He was on his back with stone beneath his bare skin, a white sheet draped over his body. For a moment, he reached for something that wasn't there -

And then someone was, an older, stern woman, white-haired and red-eyed. For just a moment, the word, 'Mother' had been on his lips.

"Do you know who and what you are?" she had asked, and he found the words without being prompted.

"I am Sheik," he said. "I will protect her with my life."

 

 

He gazed at the rippling surface of a river and tried to work out what had happened to him. For a moment, he wasn't alone - his head was growing less of his own, his thoughts less private. For a moment, he indulged her, ran a hand through soft water.

For a moment, she was pleased, and so was he.

 

 

Now, he wasn't alone. She was young and lost and bewildered, and he did his best to guide her through a world that was becoming increasingly dark.

One day, he asked what they were waiting for.

 _The Hero of Time,_ she told him.

And his world stopped.

 

 

The dreams would not end.

The village the lyre Kula playing in the mountains. A redheaded girl with freckles on her nose her brother long duties quiet moments. A stranger in the water blue eyes a sword he couldn't touch _why are you acting like we've never met before_.

Link.

Always Link, haunting his dreams and his nightmares.

 

 

The days grew closer, and it was almost enough to make Sheik feel ill.

He'd see Link, and he would be a stranger to him. Had this been what Link had felt when they had met all those years ago? Would he feel the sting of gazing at someone he loved with every last breath and have them gaze back with utter unfamiliarity in his eyes?

When first he saw him in the Temple of Time, Sheik almost couldn't make his feet move towards him.

And then a sunny smile spread across Link's face - every muscle in Sheik's body tensed as he swallowed back the urge to run to him and kiss him until they couldn't breathe.

There'd be time for that later - at least, there would for Link.

For himself, there'd be no more kisses or little touches or easy companionship in the rising sun.

 

 

And when oblivion came once again, he welcomed its embrace.

 

 

But now, there was nothing left of the River of the Dead.

No more lost and lonely souls drifted its shores and banks; the ever-present toll of the bell was gone. The moon once again shone on him as the last of the Shadow Guardians streamed out from what had once been the Shadow Temple.

High above an old, ruined village, two young men watched. The last of the Sheikah was gone, now - the Royal Family had long forgotten them, and the ties that bound them to the underworld had been cut. As his brethren collected the old woman and moved on to their final destinations, the two watched and waited.

And then they were the only ones left. One ducked his head, beads and braids in his long hair clinking gently at the movement. "Where will you go now?"

"To find him," the other answered, smiling a little. "I think it's about time we found each other again."

The long-haired one paused, then, finally, a smile crossed his face. The centuries had mellowed him out, too. "If he makes you happy, then go."

The shorter-haired one reached forward, wound his fingers in to the long locks, pressed their foreheads together. "Thanks," he breathed, his brother's approval the last thing he needed. " _Sadir amah, Alifha_."

" _Sadir amah, Alifha_ ," Kula echoed, and he, too, disappeared in to the moonlight.

Sheik watched for a long moment, then leaped down from the old watchtower in one smooth movement. He had somewhere to be, now - someone he hadn't seen in a very long time.

He pressed his fingers to the stone, and the edge of music caught his hearing. The sound of an ocarina... retrieving the lyre, he closed his eyes and began to play.

And then he was elsewhere, and a skeletal warrior was watching him in something that approached raw shock.

It was the warrior that moved first - every step he took shedding more armour, every step he took firming his flesh. Clear peach skin replaced brittle bones, blue eyes lit up in joy replaced empty glowing sockets, solid metal softened and brightened in to green fabric.

And by the time Sheik had reached his side, Link was himself once more.

"I've missed you," he said softly, and reached for the Sheikah. And Sheik willingly let himself be drawn in, eyes closing as he wrapped his arms around his hero, finally content, finally happy.

"You'll never have to miss me again," he whispered - here, with the two of them young and happy and together, they could find eternity in each other's arms.

 

 

And far away in North Castle, the girl who had slept for a thousand years opened her eyes again.


	14. Come Together

"I'm going to tell you a story," said the old woman as she settled back amongst her pillows.

The room was a pleasant one. Tapestries and paintings covered the walls, soft rugs over stone floors cushioned footfalls. Of course, the inhabitant of the large bed hadn't set foot on them for quite some time - old and frail, she had been bedridden since her illness had started.

Now, though, it was warm and cozy, a fire crackling cheerfully in the fireplace, three children excitedly perched on various parts of the bed. A fourth sat on his mother's lap in the comfortable plush chair nearby; beside her sat her own mother, hands folded neatly on her lap.

"What kind of story, Auntie?" one of the children asked - a little blonde girl with curls like her grandmother. "Is it a love story?"

The old woman chuckled. "It is indeed a love story," she told the child gravely, "It's also an adventure story, and a ghost story, and a tragedy, but it has a happy ending."

"Oh," the girl said, pulling a face. "I hope it's not too scary. I don't like ghosts."

"These are good ghosts," the woman said with a brief smile, "They're very nice ghosts."

"I'm not scared of ghosts at all!" her older brother boasted, giving the girl a confident grin. "Mila, if you're scared, you can hold my hand."

For just a moment, a nostalgic smile crossed the woman's face.

"A long, long time ago," she started, "Over a thousand years in the past, when Hyrule was very, very young, the Royal Family had a son and a daughter. The prince was very ambitious and wanted to rule all of Hyrule and be a good leader, and the princess was a tomboy who liked to ride horses and listen to her friend play music. Both the prince and the princess had companions, protectors - a couple of Sheikah protectors."

"That's a funny name," Mila frowned, and the old woman shushed her.

"Yes, but they was terribly nice, as well," she told her, "And the boy Sheikah played lovely music. Because the prince was so busy, the princess was friends with both of them, and she spent all her free time with them."

And then she paused - dramatic effect. "Then, one day, their father died, and the prince became the king. But the king had had a secret, and he had told the princess what it was - everyone thought he had had a magical item, but now he and the princess knew that he didn't. The prince, though, thought that he had told her where it was, and he wanted it. So he started forming a plan to make the princess tell him where it was."

The three children watched wide-eyed. "Was she okay?" the eldest, Lena, asked as she leaned forward, lifting little Mila on to her lap.

"Well, the princess didn't know what he was planning at first," she explained. "She found something else rather interesting - one day, the boy Sheikah was out travelling, and he found a half-drowned boy in the river. He took him back to the castle, and when he woke up, they found out an amazing secret."

Another pause. The boy, eyes wide, insisted, "Well, tell us!"

The old woman chucked. "I'm getting to it! The boy in the river told them an amazing story - he was a hero from far in the future, and he had been sent back to help save them from a war. The princess immediately befriended him, and so did the boy Sheikah - who, very curiously, the hero said he knew in the future. Well, he didn't like that at all! Now he knew that there would be bad things that would happen in the future, so he was very sad."

"Poor boy Sheikah," Mila sighed.

She nodded gravely. "He was quite unhappy. So the hero decided he'd make him happy again, and they started to become very good friends. And they fell in love with each other."

Lena squealed a little. "That's so cute - but didn't the hero already know him from the future?"

"He did," the old woman nodded, brushing snow-white hair out of her face. "But I'll get to that later! One day, something very bad happened - the king and the boy Sheikah had to fight an enemy - and the boy Sheikah became a ghost." There was a collective trio of moans from the three children - even glossed over, they knew what it had meant. "The hero was very, very sad - and so was the princess, who was very good friends with him. So they came up with a plan."

"What kind of plan?" the boy asked, "Did he become a zombie?"

She chuckled. "Not quite. They brought him back for a little while, so he was like a living ghost. But it was only for a little amount of time - while the boy Sheikah recovered with the hero, the princess went home to see what her brother was up to - oh, the king had travelled far away to see the boy Sheikah's brother." She grinned faintly sheepishly. "I forgot to mention that part."

"Auntie..." Lena snorted warningly.

"Yes, yes, shush," she scolded, "I'm still telling the story! Well, when the princess got there, she got herself in to a spot of trouble. Because, you see, the king had found a wizard to try and make the princess tell him where the magical object was. The princess wouldn't tell him, though - so the wizard cast a spell on her."

There was a collective gasp from the children. Now, the old woman looked a little thoughtful, her thin fingers tapping on the bed covers. "The spell made the princess fall in to a deep, deep sleep, and the wizard ran away forever. But the king was so upset that his sister had had a spell put on her that he stopped looking for the magical item, which she didn't have anyway, and she was hidden away in a secret castle for a special hero to go and wake her up."

Briefly, sadness crossed her face. "The boy Sheikah, too, was starting to fade away. He said goodbye to the hero and disappeared, and the hero was terribly sad - he was so sad that he decided to go back to his own time. But this hero was a special one - he was the Hero of Time, and he had saved the world once before. And that was when he knew the boy Sheikah."

Tugging little Mila close, Lena leaned in. "What happened?"

"Why, the boy Sheikah was brought back again," she said gently. "And he could see his true love, the hero, again - but because this was in the hero's past, he didn't know the Sheikah. So when he disappeared again, he did so thinking that he'd never see the hero again."

"That's so sad," Lena murmured, and her brother snorted.

"That's not sad, that's _sappy_. I thought this was an adventure story!"

"Oh yes, there was a war," the old woman said vaguely, waving her hand. "Anyway, that's not the good bit! Hundreds of years passed, and the hero passed on. He became a ghostly warrior - a _good_ ghost, don't worry, Mila! - who'd teach people how to use the sword, but he couldn't leave until something else happened. And then it did - the boy Sheikah's ghost could finally move on, and he found the hero's ghost."

A smile spreading across her face, Lena clapped her hands. "A reunion!" she breathed, grinning. "That's so romantic!"

While her brother made silent gagging gestures, the woman nodded, eyes twinkling. "Finally, after hundreds of years, they could finally be together. But I'm forgetting one more person in this story, aren't I?"

"Princess!" Mila piped up, and the old woman gave the child a warm smile.

"That's right," she told her, "The princess had a happy ending as well. A thousand years after she was cursed, another hero was born. He went on a special quest to find a magical item - the same magical item the king thought his sister had had, all those years ago! Only, this time, he _did_ find it - and the princess woke up in to a whole new world. And there, she found new friends, and family, and she could live in happiness and peace - until her very last days."

There was silence for a moment, and then Lena smiled. "I like that story," she decided, nudging her little sister. "Didn't you, Mila?"

"Uh huh," the girl smiled, then yawned widely. "I'm sleepy."

"Then you should go to bed," the old woman said gently, holding her arms out for a hug. "Come and give Auntie a hug, alright?"

The three scrambled over - even the boy tentatively hugged her before they slipped off the bed to find their mother. "Good night, Auntie!" Mila smiled, waving as she was led out again, "I'm glad the princess and the hero and the boy Sheikah were happy!"

"So am I," the old woman murmured, smiling as she was left alone with the children's grandmother.

"That was a true story, wasn't it?" the other old woman murmured, standing and crossing over to the bed. "You were the princess, the hero that woke her up was Link."

And Zelda smiled mischievously, sweeping her mane of white out of the way as she settled back amongst the pillows. "Perhaps. Zelda, I want to thank you for taking me in all those years ago."

"It was my pleasure, Zelda," the former queen said gravely, although there was a hint of a smile in there. "Ai, I'm glad that's one tradition we can leave behind. I'm not sure how we'd all cope with _five_ Zeldas in the house - two are bad enough!"

"More Zeldas than anyone can handle!" the former redhead cackled, then gave the other a smile. "Good night."

And the other Zelda closed her eyes and smiled back before making her way to the door. "Good night."

And the light shut off.

 

 

It was only just dawn. The windows facing east showed a landscape barely illuminated, the sun not quite over the mountains yet. Zelda gazed out at it, as each new fragment of land was lit up by the day, then turned back.

"Well, it's about _time_ you showed up," she scolded, sitting up and setting her hands on her hips. "What time do you call this?"

"I call it the start of a new day," Link grinned, and held a hand out to her. "Come on. We've got a lot to see and do, right?"

Sheik snorted faintly, elbowing his lover. "Ah, now, don't intimidate her," he scolded, and Zelda laughed outright.

"It takes a lot more than that to intimidate me!" she grinned, then threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, brushing back a strand of red hair. Just once, Sheik's gaze flickered to the bed - then a small smile crossed his uncovered face and he too held out a hand.

"Are you ready, then?" he asked softly.

And Zelda did look back - to where white hair was still spread out across the pillow, a thin, frail hand resting on the coverlet. "I was born ready," she told them, and set out across the floor - to where her boys were waiting to take her home.

  
**The End**   



	15. Appendix

**The Triforce Wars**   
_Appendix_   


**Introduction**

In writing a story like Triforce Wars, which involves time travel, paradoxes, and a whole lot of headcanon history, you have to work out a lot of information. What happens between known canon points? How do we get from stuff in the story to stuff in the games? What happens after the story?

If you may indulge me, this is some of the supplementary material I worked out in writing and planning this story.

**The races of Hyrule**

_Hylians_

The Hylian people fare probably the best of the races of Hyrule. Between Triforce Wars and Ocarina of Time, very little changes for them, and the end result of the Hyrulean Civil War bolsters national pride in a rather big way - not only is their royal family now the leaders of _all_ the races, but they don't have to compromise on their land or privilege. Throughout the years, however, the Hylian population slowly begins to dwindle - while there's always a strong Hylian population (including the Royal Family), their numbers are slowly replaced with Humans. As Hylians and Humans intermarry, it becomes increasingly rare to find pureblooded Hylians. By the time of Adventure of Link, the Hylian population is a minority, albeit a minority that still rules the country.

_Sheikah_

Fate

To contrast with the Hylians, the Sheikah fare rather badly. With the Royal Family in full knowledge of what Kula did to Zelda, it's unsurprising that some members of the family begin to harbour resentment towards the Sheikah, resulting in abuse and the population being taken advantage of. When the Great Betrayal takes place, at least half the population leaves Hyrule, no longer considering themselves Hyrulean. While others remain, they stay as an objectified people, with Shadow Guardians like Sheik frequently taken advantage of - being forced into wars, servitude, and other indignities.

By Ocarina, most of the Hyrulean Sheikah have either been slaughtered or have fled. During the reign of the Sheikah-friendly Zelda of Ocarina, some begin to return (it's from these Sheikah that Impaz is descended from). Once this population passes on, however, this leaves only the long-departed non-Hyrulean Sheikah, no longer bound to the Royal Family in any way.

After death

After death, Sheikah have, for the most part, three alternatives. Some, like Sheik, become Shadow Guardians - instead of their souls able to move on, they are trapped in the River of the Dead. Their bodies are cremated - any remains of their old body would force their soul to return to that, even if it's a decaying husk. This is... understandably traumatic. The majority of Sheikah are able to move on, their bodies also cremated. A smaller population have their souls move on, but their bodies are not cremated - these become the ReDead, guardians of the Shadow Temple and of Kakariko Graveyard.

Some Sheikah have profoundly different fates. For those like Kula, sacrificed to protect the village, they continue to act protectively - Kula would become a ferryman on the River of the Dead, able to watch over his brother and the other Shadow Guardians between their lives.

The Shadow Guardian ritual that Sheik would have undergone on the battlefield would have involved Eldir slicing his and Sheik's hands open, and Eldir allowing his blood to drip into Sheik's wound. This permanently binds him to the Royal Family through his very blood, and the words Eldir would prompt Sheik to say would preserve his soul enough that it could be returned at any time. To bring back a Shadow Guardian, it requires the blood of the Royal Family to be spilled in the Shadow Temple - this ensures that the Sheikah won't be able to bring back their departed loved ones for their own purposes. The Royal Family member in question then has command over the Sheikah, although as Zelda demonstrates in Triforce Wars, this can be waived. They do, however, always maintain a bond to the Royal Family member who made them like that (so long as they are still alive).

Everyday life, training, being sworn in, and relationships

Everyday life for young Sheikah involves, predominantly, huge amounts of training. A typical day would involve a young Sheikah rising before dawn to bathe and dress, including face coverings - only immediate family is permitted to see a Sheikah's face (as well as those the Sheikah will later be sworn to, and lovers - this, however, isn't relevant to children). The young Sheikah then engages in chores before their parents or guardians rise, and they eat breakfast. After that, schooling takes place in the morning, and after a midday lunch, training in many different areas occurs. It isn't unusual for a young Sheikah to train in hand-to-hand combat, combat with weapons, the arts (particularly music), and many different types of magic. (As most Sheikah age, they begin to specialise in areas of their choice, although some, like Sheik, continue studying many things.) At sunset, a dinner is eaten with the family, and then the evening may be used for entertainment (particularly music).

For those who have come of age, the daily routine is only a little different - they would rise at sunrise, after the children have bathed, dressed, and performed chores, and eat a family breakfast together. Instead of schooling and training, adult Sheikah would undertake whatever work they have been trained in - many Sheikah, for instance, are craftsmen or make herbal remedies for both their own population and for others. At sunset, they rejoin their family for dinner.

The week before a Sheikah's thirteenth birthday, they undergo an intense series of tests - physicality, combat, magic, the arts, and many other areas. On their thirteenth birthday, their new post is announced - Sheik is one of the few to gain a prestigious position as a personal guardian to the prince. Other Sheikah, like Kula, go into artistic areas (although skilled in magic, he was selected as a dancer), while others take more menial positions if they score low enough. There is also a quota every year of Sheikah permitted to remain in the village, usually those who wish to start families or otherwise learn a trade to support their people. A Sheikah becomes an adult at thirteen, and may begin courtship then.

Those destined to take up positions with the Royal Family spend the next year under intense, rigorous training to help them achieve their full potential. On their fourteenth birthdays (the day a Hylian is considered an adult), they are sent to their new positions, and are expected to remain there until they are released (or they die).

In some cases, Sheikah who fall in love and who wish to do so may be released for fourteen years in order to raise a child, although once their child turns thirteen, they are expected to return to their duties. This doesn't mean that all lovers get fourteen years off - it's only heterosexual Sheikah couples who intend to start a family that get this.

The Sheikah view relationships very openly - there is little disapproval of homosexuality, polyamory, or even relationships with Hylians. Even incest is viewed as something to be mildly tolerated - the only truly taboo relationships amongst Sheikah are those involving children under thirteen, heterosexual incestuous relationships, heterosexual relationships with Hylians (as both can result in offspring), and intergenerational incestuous relationships (such as a Sheikah youth with their aunt or uncle). Large age differences between unrelated Sheikah are frowned on, but aren't disallowed.

Despite this openness amongst relationships, a Sheikah is still expected to have children with another Sheikah. Sheik's relationship with Link (a male Hylian) is nothing out of the ordinary, but he would later be expected to have children with a Sheikah girl. Sheikah-Hylian hybrids are strongly frowned upon, and any offspring from that union may find themselves outcast (along with their parents) - until events change much later on, Sheikah heavily believe in racial purity. It should be said, however, that some Sheikah outside of Hyrule's borders view Sheikah-Hylian or Sheikah-Human hybrids (or the rare Sheikah-Gerudo hybrid) with a little more tolerance.

_Kokiri_

Unbeknownst to Link, he is a major influence in how the Kokiri change and develop. Several millennia ago, a group of settlers descended to the land that'd become Hyrule, headed to the forest, and perished. Thus, they were unable to undergo the transformation the goddesses granted their brothers in the mountains and on the rivers. It takes several hundred years for life begin to take root again in the forest - with the sprouting of the Great Deku Tree, those little glimmers of lost souls are used as templates for a new type of life. Based on the abundant plants and using those base emotions of curiosity, fear, hunger, selfishness, the Great Deku tree creates a race of plant-based children.

When Link arrives a thousand years later, however, things begin to change. The Kokiri are humanoid, yes. But they don't resemble Hylian children - and the Great Deku Tree, as a guardian spirit, is able to learn from Link that one day he will be raised amongst them. Subtly, things begin to change - their leaf clothing begins to detach, their skin is less green-tinged. Slowly, they begin to look more human.

And once this is all over and they're no longer under the Great Deku Tree's influence, things, once again, begin to change. In the adult timeline, the Deku Tree Sprout begins to make them smaller, lighter, able to drift on the winds so that they could escape the incoming sea, and as he grows, they, too, begin to change into the Koroks. The child timeline, however has a different fate - with the Great Deku Tree already gone and with no replacement forthcoming, the Kokiri begin to devolve back to their plant-like state, eventually spreading wild throughout the hidden areas of the forests that would one day become Ordon and Faron. Eventually, they will disappear entirely, becoming slightly intelligent plants or bodiless plant spirits - some even become the fairies that once guarded them.

_Gorons_

While the Hylians linger for a long time, the Gorons end up the most widespread. Able to survive anywhere that has rock, both before and after the events of Triforce Wars, they spread far and wide - in the adult timeline, they make it all the way to areas as far-flung as New Hyrule, as well as regions like Labrynna, Holodrom, and Termina. They remain a robust and proud race, and aid chosen heroes over a great many generations.

_Zora_

The Zora also spread far, although, restricted to clean water of a suitable temperature, they remain less robust and ubiquitous than the Gorons. Ultimately, it's time that erases the Zora - a lack of suitable waters, warfare, and simply being more delicate than other races erase them away. Other Zora survive by taking to the seas, the harsher conditions resulting in more aggressive and warlike societies - even their name changes to reflect this difference.

_Gerudo_

Ah, the Gerudo - the only race to fare worse than the Sheikah. The Gerudo have a blink-and-you-miss-it history in Hyrule proper - the society is originally founded by criminals and undesirables cast out to the deserts beyond Hyrule's borders. In such harsh environments, theft becomes a necessity to survive, and is later incorporated into their growing society. By the time of Triforce Wars, they are foreigners, and it's only around the time of the Hyrulean Civil War that their hands are integrated into Hyrule (under the leadership of Ganondorf, who has heard of the Triforce but is favouring a slower, more measured method to get it than all-out war - this is also motivated by the fact that he really does want what's best for his people, and what's best just happens to includes the invasion of Hyrule).

Their fates are quite different in the two timelines. In the child timeline, with Ganondorf executed/locked in the Twilight Realm, Zelda's xenophobic father begins a program of systematic execution for theft (regretfully common), banishment into the Twilight Realm (along with the Dark Interlopers from ten years earlier - while the Twili affiliation with the shadows comes from the Sheikah, their red hair comes from the Gerudo), and exile. Their fate in the adult timeline, by contrast, is actually happier - they take to the waters and become pirates instead of thieves, like their sisters in Termina.

_Humans_

While Humans (as a distinct race from 'humans', the general term given to Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, and Humans) don't appear in either Triforce Wars or in Ocarina, the later history of Hyrule features them prominantly. Originating from surrounding lands, like Ordona to Hyrule's southern and southeastern borders, a slow migration of Humans ends up trickling into Hyrule proper in the years after Ocarina.

Physically close to Hylians, save their rounded ears and decreased aptitude for magic, intermarriage is inevitable - while the two races are distinct by the time of Twilight Princess, by the time Zelda awakens, the two have mingled so much that 'Hylian' and 'Human' are distinct minorities. Most families would have mixed blood - including, to an extent, the Royal Family, although not so much that the Royal Family loses any physical traits of their Hylian ancestry. The Link and Zelda of the NES games (excluding, of course, the Zelda of Triforce Wars) are distinct because they are mostly pure-ish Hylians, something that is quite rare in the scheme of things.

**The Hylians and the Sheikah**

_Relations between a guardian and their charge_

The relationship between a member of the Royal Family and their charge is a strong one. The member the Sheikah is sworn to is one of the few they are permitted to bare their face to, and it is expected that they will serve for the entirety of their natural life (and, sometimes, afterwards as well).

A young prince or princess does not start with someone like Sheik or Naziya, however. A child of the Royal Family has something between a protector and a nanny - this is always a female Sheikah who uses the title 'Impa' (the Sheikah word for 'aunt'). This title continues to refer to a guardian of a prince or princess for centuries, even once the position is no longer held by Sheikah.

A Sheikah sworn to a member of the Royal Family must obey absolutely - the word of one they're bound to is tantamount to a magical contract. When Eldir ordered Sheik not to speak of his plans, Sheik would find himself physically unable to communicate it - if he tried to speak it, the words simply wouldn't come, and if he tried to write it, then he wouldn't be able to physically form the words. This is usually released by death, although some (like Eldir) think ahead and ensure the order holds beyond death, as well.

_Relations in the castle and public_

Sheikah are viewed as servants, no matter what position they hold. While many do hold menial positions (like the maid that Link encountered when he first woke in the castle), even those with high-up positions (guarding important nobles, or even guarding Kings and Queens) are considered to be answerable to Hylians. They're not, of course - the only true barriers are those of rank (a Hylian castle guard outranks a Sheikah stableboy, but a Sheikah castle guard will outrank a Hylian stableboy), and those between a master and their servant.

But the Hylians do hold this perception that the Sheikah are merely servants, and will attempt to order them about despite rank. The Sheikah is then able to retaliate (much to the chagrin of those doing the ordering) if their rank allows for it - most, however, will simply ignore the attempted order and go about their day.

This changes once Kula attacks Zelda - following this, any castle Sheikah becomes answerable to any castle Hylian, and it becomes extended so that _any_ Sheikah becomes answerable to _any_ Hylian following the Great Betrayal. This isn't reversed until the time of Zelda of Ocarina of Time.

By the time of the Hyrulean Civil War, the Sheikah are viewed as mistrustful shadow-dwellers with unspecified abilities, simultaneously to be feared and taken advantage of. This is largely why no one who learns of the Kakariko massacre protests greatly against it.

**North Castle and Zelda's fate**

North Castle, and the Hyrule it lies in, bears little resemblance to the Hyrule of Ocarina of Time. In this, it is explained as that Hyrule simply being a little-known external territory (until some calamity forces the population northwards in to this new land). While North Castle gains use once again, the tower that Zelda rests in remains protected.

This protection is particularly important for the adult portion of the timeline. When Hyrule is flooded, Zelda's chamber remains sealed against the water as well as the progress of time, allowing her to survive the calamity. The king's order for Hyrule to be flooded does not include her chamber, which is protected by other methods - it simply remains sealed at the bottom of the sea until either the sea is drained or someone gains the power to explore the sea floor.

Once Zelda awakens in the child timeline, she finds herself in a totally different land. It's also the cause for change amongst the Royal Family - the Zelda of LoZ is the last of the royal family line to hold the name 'Zelda'. Her own daughter gets a unique name, and her granddaughters do as well. With Zelda I no longer sleeping, the tradition of naming every royal daughter 'Zelda' is no longer relevant.

**A 'brief' timeline**  
Dates measured as BG - before Ganondorf claims the Triforce - and AG - after Ganondorf claims the Triforce. Child portion of Ocarina of Time is year 0.

_A note about the timeline_ : Yes, this is entirely headcanon! The dates for the actual events of Triforce Wars and Ocarina are locked in (for this particular timeline), but the rest are more malleable. I am using the assumption that Hyrule has twelve months (of different names, though), and that their new year falls at the end of December - the end of the month closest to winter solstice. This timeline does not include the majority of the handheld games - the Oracle games, Minish Cap, and the Four Swords games.

~2000 BG: The first settlers descend from the world of Skyloft. Finding the land that will one day become Hyrule uninhabitable, they retreat - some to the mountains, some to the lakes and rivers, where they travel on woven rafts and canoes. Another group travels into the forests and becomes lost. These settlers are adapted by the goddesses to their new environments - the mountain-dwellers become of stone, the river-dwellers become aquatic and able to survive beneath the surface, too.

~1600 BG: The next group of settlers descends. They find the land shadowy and dangerous as well, but this group decides to take to the shadows and shape them into their home.

~1500 BG: The adventures of Link I, the Hero of the Sky. The Skyward Sword is shaped into the Master Sword and becomes a symbol of the people. With the land below now cleared, more and more residents of Skyloft descend - the field-dwellers take the name of 'the Hylia people', while a group of outlaws and trouble-makers are forced out of the new land to the desert. Throughout this time, the Gorons and Zora begin to spread outwards, and those lost in the forest begin to gain glimmers of sentience. The shadow dwellers - the Sheikah - continue to roam the land, a nomadic population based on trade.

~800 BG: Now fully-fledged civilisations, the first official Hylian Royal Family is founded from a family that has been involved with the Hylia people from the start. Formal borders are drawn up - it excludes the desert but does include the mountains and rivers, although the Gorons and Zora have their own governments set up.

~600 BG: The nomadic Sheikah population begin to settle into Kakariko village. On good diplomatic relations with the Hylian Royal Family, it becomes a tradition for Sheikah boys to try out as protectors and guards of the Royal Family.

~550 BG: Eventually, Sheikah girls are permitted to try out as well. The system is finalised for how young Sheikah are selected.

454 BG: Prince Eldir is born.

453 BG: Twin boys are born in Kakariko village - Sahil and Kula.

452 BG: Princess Zelda is born.

451 BG: Naziya is born to a travelling family, who then settle into Kakariko Village.

439 BG: Sahil (now called Sheik) is sworn in as Eldir's protector on his fourteenth birthday.

Early October 434 BG: Link awakens in the past. Shortly after, Sheik is injured in a raid.

Early November 434 BG: Sheik invites Link to a Celebration in Kakariko Village.

Mid December 434 BG: Two groups go to the forest and the desert. Sheik is killed. Three days later, he is revived, and two days after that, he and Link return to the castle to find Zelda cursed. Kula is killed. They track Eldir to the desert and 'rescue' him the next day.

Late January 433 BG: The final battle. Sheik dies again, and Zelda is interred in North Castle. Link returns back to his own time.

~275 BG: A king of Hyrule, knowing of his ancestor's sister's fate and hating the Sheikah, starts a systematic pattern of abuse. This includes using them as disposable troops in a fierce set of battles, particularly the Shadow Guardians. Many Shadow Guardians are revived again and again to serve as front-line troops. Eventually, a leader of the Sheikah incites his people into rebellion - the leader is executed and the Sheikah given the choice to remain loyal to the Royal Family or to go into exile. The Sheikah population is split in half by the choice. Sheik chooses to stay loyal to the Royal Family to ensure that he will see Link again. The tear is added to the Sheikah Eye.

12 BG: The Hyrulean Civil War begins. A group of magic users are given the name of the 'Dark Interlopers' and begin to hatch a scheme to take the Triforce. Many Sheikah, tired of the abuse and of being taken advantage of, join up.

10 BG: To ensure that no more Sheikah are permitted to join the enemy, the entire Kakariko-dwelling population - men, women, children, and the elderly - are slaughtered by the Hylian Royal Army, on the orders of the king's adviser. The remaining Sheikah scatter to the borders. The only Sheikah left in Hyrule is Impa, the loyal guardian of the Queen and her infant daughter Zelda. The Hyrulean Civil war ends with the banishment of the Interlopers to the Twilight Realm. A wounded woman escapes into the forest with her newborn son and dies shortly thereafter. Hyrule is unified under the Hylian Royal Family, and the King of the Hylia People becomes the King of Hyrule. The desert is brought under jurisdiction of Hyrule for the first time, with their king, Ganondorf Dragmire, swearing fealty to the Hyrulean king. Impa, the last survivor of Kakariko, opens the village up to Hylian refugees from the war.

6 BG: The toddler Princess Zelda begins to have peculiar dreams - the start of her precognitive ability.

1 BG: Zelda's dreams become clearer and more intense, including recurring dreams of a darkness taking over Hyrule and a figure in green from the forest clearing it away.

Early summer 0 BG: The events of the child portion of Ocarina of Time take place. Zelda's soul is prompted into a deep sleep as Sheik is recalled from the River of the Dead to protect her. It remains Zelda's body, but it has now been shifted to resemble Sheik's, including his death wound. He remains ignorant of everything save his duties.

~3 AG: Zelda begins to stir in her and Sheik's shared mind. When she tells Sheik about the Hero of Time, he's assaulted of memories of his entire first life, including Link.

Early summer 7 AG: Link awakens, and the adult portion of Ocarina of Time takes place. Once Ganondorf has been sealed away, Zelda sends Link back in time.

\--

Adult timeline

~100 AG: Ganondorf begins to break his seal. Without a Hero, Hyrule is flooded.

~250 AG: The Hero of Winds defeats Ganondorf again.

~350 AG: The Hero of the Rails defeats Malladus.

\--

Child timeline

Early summer 0 BG: Ganondorf is executed by the Ancient Sages (the original forms of the Sages of Ocarina of Time in their unawakened form) before he can claim the Triforce. However, as he's already claimed it in the future (paradoxes are involved), he still possesses it and strikes down one of the sages. He is sealed in the Twilight Realm instead.

Mid-summer 0 BG: Link departs Hyrule to travel to who-knows-where.

1 AG: After travelling, training, and regaining Epona, Link returns to the Lost Woods, only to find himself in the land of Termina. After defeating Majora, he stays in Termina for several years.

4 AG: Link returns to Hyrule, then leaves again to continue travelling.

8 AG: Link receives a summons from Zelda and returns to Hyrule. Zelda sends him back in time 442 years in order for time to remain consistent. A few hours (to her) and several months (to him) later, he returns. He and Zelda return to the Shadow Temple to say their goodbyes to Sheik properly, and Link departs Hyrule again.

~35 AG: Link dies in battle after defending a foreign city to the end, taking his enemy with him. Unable to rest, however, his soul wanders, taking the form of a skeletal warrior.

~250 AG: Link assists the Hero of Twilight in his training, allowing for him to defeat Ganondorf again.

~255 AG: Impaz, the last of the Hyrulean Sheikah, dies, breaking the lock on the River of the Dead. The Shadow Guardians there are released, and are able to go on. After saying goodbye to Kula, Sheik finds Link again. However, they don't move on to the next stage - instead, they are free to wander the ghostly realm.

~450 AG: The events of A Link to the Past take place, and the Master Sword is laid to rest.

~451 AG: The events of Link's Awakening take place (the Hero of Light awakens in Hyrule, the Goddesses intervening to keep their Hero alive).

~570 AG: The events of The Legend of Zelda take place.

~571 AG: The events of The Adventure of Link take place, and Zelda awakens in North Castle.

~660 AG: Zelda finally dies of old age, with Link and Sheik returning to escort her soul to the next stage.

 


End file.
